Coniston CofE Primary School

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: March 3 rd – 5 th 2003

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Shepherds’ Bridge Coniston Cumbria Postcode: LA21 8AL

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Peter Bell

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: January 1998 Coniston C of E Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

23742 Colin Henderson Registered inspector Mathematics; art and design; physical education; education inclusion How high are standards? Pupils’ results and achievements. How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 9306 Barbara Moore Lay inspector Attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 24031 Iris Idle Team inspector Science; information and communication technology; design and technology; music; the foundation stage 2893 John Manning Team inspector English; geography; history; religious education; special educational needs How good are curricular and other opportunities?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Quality Education Directorate Reginald Arthur House Percy Street Rotherham S65 1ED

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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 Coniston C of E Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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? 10

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Coniston Church of England Primary is a smaller than average school situated in an attractive rural setting on the edge of the village of Coniston. It currently has 78 pupils on roll (42 boys and 36 girls) with four children attending part-time in the nursery. Most pupils live in the local village and some travel in from the surrounding area. They come from a mixture of private and rented housing, with many parents earning relatively low and partly seasonal wages. The pupils are of white, United Kingdom ethnic background. There are no pupils for whom English is an additional language. Nearly eight per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is below average. There are 19 per cent of pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs, with a broad range of physical, autistic, specific and moderate learning needs. Two pupils have Statements of Special Educational Need. This is

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

broadly average within the local education authority’s area. Assessment information shows that attainment on entry for the small number of children varies considerably. It is broadly average overall.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Coniston Church of England Primary is a good and effective school. Pupils are friendly, very well behaved and have good attitudes to work. Relationships are very good throughout the school. Teaching is good and enables infant and junior pupils to achieve above average standards. The leadership of the headteacher is good. He works closely with a good staff team and supportive governing body to maintain high standards. The school’s provision for children under five has been affected by changes in funding and staffing. It is not developed enough to ensure that they make consistent progress in some required areas of learning. The school makes very good use of the local area and links with the local community to provide a good and interesting range of learning activities. It makes good use of its resources and gives good value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Pupils achieve well above average standards in mathematics. They achieve above average standards in English and science. Standards in art and design are high • Teaching for infants and juniors is good overall. It is often very good and occasionally excellent • The leadership of the headteacher is good. It is a key factor on promoting high standards of teaching and learning • Pupils have good attitudes to school. They have positive approaches to their work and are keen to achieve good standards • Pupils behave very well in lessons and throughout the school. They are friendly, show respect and work and play together well • The school provides well for pupils’ personal development. It has a very caring and supportive approach. It is very effective in promoting pupils’ cultural development • The school provides a good range of learning activities. It is matched well to their learning needs

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

and is enhanced very successfully by visits, visitors and links with the local community

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • The provision for children in the Foundation Stage is not fully developed • Teachers’ consistent use of on-going assessment information to inform and review pupils’ improvement targets The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made very good progress since the last inspection in January 1998. Pupils attain higher standards, especially in mathematics. Good progress has been made on the key issues of promoting pupils’ independence, developing schemes of work for mathematics and science and assessment procedures. The school has made very good progress on the issue of utilising the resources of the local environment and community links. Teaching is of a consistently higher standard. The headteacher Coniston C of E Primary School - 7 continues to give good leadership and he receives good support from staff and an increasingly effective governing body.

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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. compared with

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Year 6 pupils are attaining higher standards than those reported previously. The results of the national tests over recent years, although varying slightly due to differences in the small year groups, show that Year 6 pupils attain above average standards overall, compared nationally and with similar schools. They are often well above average. In 2002 the school achieved its challenging target, 86 per cent, for the proportion of pupils attaining the nationally expected Level 4. It exceeded this target in mathematics. The proportion of pupils achieving above expected levels was well above average. For example, 64 per cent of pupils attained Level 5 in English compared with the national average of 29 per cent. Inspection evidence confirms that current Year 6 pupils are maintaining above average standards in English and science. They are well above average in mathematics. Pupils are achieving high

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STANDARDS

standards in writing and are using their literacy skills well to promote high standards in other subjects, for example, history. Reading standards are not as consistently high as pupils are not always given enough opportunities to extend their skills, for example, by reading aloud or using the library.

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STANDARDS

Year 2 pupils are attaining well above average standards in mathematics and above average in writing. They have improved since the last inspection. Standards in reading are average and have been maintained at the level reported previously. The school has focused on reading recently and inspection evidence confirms that standards are higher than the below average levels attained in the last two year’s national tests for seven-year-olds. Year 2 pupils attain standards in science that are above the national average. Pupils throughout the school attain above expected levels in information and communication technology. This is promoted by good specialist teaching. Standards in art and design are well above expected standards. Very good enthusiastic teaching, supported by the school’s good use of artists-in- residence and artists from the local community, promotes pupils’ enjoyment of the subject and high

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STANDARDS

standards of attainment. Pupils attain above expected standards in history and geography, supported by pupils using their good literacy and numeracy skills and very interesting topics, especially the use of the local environment. Standards in religious education meet those expected in the locally agreed syllabus. Pupils attain nationally expected levels in physical education and design and technology. Those in music are below expected levels at the end of Year 6. Pupils benefit this year from part-time specialist teaching in music. This has yet to promote standards to expected levels for the oldest pupils. Pupils make good progress in their learning throughout the school. Those with special educational needs are included very successfully in the range of learning activities. They are supported well and many attain standards that meet those expected for their age. More-able pupils are challenged well to

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STANDARDS

apply and extend their skills and knowledge. They achieve consistently above average levels. Coniston C of E Primary School - 8

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Pupils have good attitudes. They are often very good and linked to very good teaching. Pupils are keen to learn and to succeed. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is very good in lessons and around the school. Pupils are friendly, polite and helpful. They play and work together very well. Personal development and relationships Relationships are very good. Pupils respond very positively to opportunities to show initiative and take responsibility. Attendance Good. Attendance levels are above the national average.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The very good standards of behaviour and pupils’ positive attitudes are strengths of the school and support pupils’ learning. The very good relationships contribute to pupils’ enjoyment of school.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching is good overall. This was reflected clearly in the lessons observed and in an analysis of pupils’ work. Teaching is often very good and occasionally excellent, particularly for older juniors. It has improved since the last inspection and is a significant factor in improving standards. Teachers control and manage their classes very well. Most use a very good range of interesting methods that grasp pupils’ interest and attention. Teaching in English and mathematics is good and enables pupils to make good progress in developing and applying their literacy and numeracy skills. Teachers do not always use marking and assessment information consistently to identify specific improvement targets and check regularly on pupils’ progress in achieving them. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is sound overall, with some good aspects. Activities are not always matched to children’s learning needs in some of the required areas of learning.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Aspect Comment The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory in the Foundation Stage and good for infants and juniors. A very good extra-curricular programme and very good links with the local community enhance learning opportunities considerably. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. A good co-ordinator works effectively with class teachers, external agencies and good support staff to enable pupils to make good progress towards their learning targets. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. The school provides effectively for all aspects of pupils’ personal development. Pupils have a clear sense of right and wrong and understand their social responsibilities. The school provides a very good range of opportunities for pupils to appreciate the values, beliefs and traditions of their own and other cultures. How well the school cares

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

for its pupils The very good procedures for ensuring pupils’ welfare reflect the school’s caring approach. The procedures for assessing pupils’ work are sound overall. Teachers do not always use assessment information to inform pupils on specific ways to improve their work and to inform their lesson planning. Coniston C of E Primary School - 9 How well the school works in partnership with parents The school has good links with parents. They help the school in many ways, although some are not involved fully in promoting their children’s learning. The school provides a good programme of interesting and challenging activities that encourages pupils to take part enthusiastically. A very supportive Home School Association helps the school to improve resources and facilities for learning.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Good. The headteacher gives good, positive leadership to the work of the school. He works closely with a good staff team and a supportive governing body to focus on school improvement. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. Governors work closely with the headteacher and staff and are influential in shaping the direction of the school. They have a good understanding of the school’s improvement priorities and fulfil their duties and responsibilities well. The school’s evaluation of its performance Good procedures for monitoring teaching and learning, focused mainly on literacy and numeracy. Assessment information is used well to inform pupil groupings and set attainment targets. It is not used to develop a broader range of improvement targets. The strategic use of resources Good. Governors work effectively with the headteacher and the school’s

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

financial adviser to ensure that the school uses its funds efficiently and targets them on improvement priorities. They monitor spending levels and apply the principles of best value effectively.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school is well-staffed and makes good use of the specialist skills of some part-time teachers to teach the full range of curriculum subjects. Good support staff contribute well to an effective staff team. The accommodation is very good and provides an attractive and stimulating learning environment. Resources are good. They have improved since the last inspection, although the limited range and quality of reading books and resources for music restrict learning opportunities.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parental responses are from the 32 questionnaires, written comments, the 14 parents who attended the meeting and a number of parents who were interviewed during the inspection.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Their children like school and make good progress • Behaviour is good • Teaching is good • The school is well led and managed • The consistent use of homework • Information about how well their children are doing in school • A broader range of activities outside of lessons • The range of activities in the Foundation Stage (a small number of parents)

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Inspectors support parents’ positive views. The range of extra-curricular activities is very good for the size of the school. There are some inconsistencies in the use of homework. Overall it is used soundly to support learning. The quality of information is good. Parents receive detailed annual reports. Inspectors confirm that Foundation Stage activities are not always matched to the range of children’s development needs. Coniston C of E Primary School - 10 Coniston C of E Primary School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 The attainment of children on entry to the nursery varies considerably from year to year. It is broadly average overall. The current Reception class had below average attainment on entry, especially in language and mathematical aspects. Their personal and social skills were well below expected levels. The small number of children entering the nursery this school year attain levels that are broadly in line with those expected for their age. Children make sound progress overall. Most are likely to achieve their early learning goals 1 by the time they enter Year 1, although many of the current Reception children are unlikely to achieve the expected level in personal, social, and emotional development. Staffing changes and weaknesses in assessment and planning have restricted the development of a full and balanced Foundation Stage curriculum. This does not ensure that all children make consistent

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

progress in all the required areas of learning.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2 Year 2 pupils attain standards in writing that are above the national average. They have improved since the last inspection and this improvement reflects the results of the national tests for seven-year-olds over the last two years. Infant pupils write good, lively stories and make good progress in improving their spelling and handwriting. Year 2 pupils attain more variable standards in reading. These have been maintained at the average levels reported previously. Standards have improved on the below average results achieved in the last two years’ national tests. The school has focused on reading. Good teaching is promoting pupils’ reading skills, for example, in developing their skills in sounding out unfamiliar words. Year 2 pupils attain standards in mathematics that are well above the national average. They have improved on the above average results in national tests and have improved considerably on the

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

average standards reported previously. Good, challenging teaching enables many pupils to achieve levels above those expected for their age. Year 2 pupils attain standards in science that are above the national average. They have been maintained at the level reported previously. Standards seen now in science reflect last year’s teachers’ assessments, although it is likely that more pupils will attain above average levels than last year.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3 Pupils build on their skills, knowledge and understanding successfully throughout the juniors. By the time they reach the end of Year 6, they attain levels that are well above average in mathematics and above average in English and science. Over recent years, the results of the small groups of Year 6 pupils who took the national tests show that standards have been maintained at an above average level overall compared nationally and with similar schools. In some years, they have been well above average in mathematics and English. Standards in English and mathematics have improved since the last inspection. They have been maintained at the above average level reported previously in science. The school sets itself challenging attainment targets for the proportion of pupils attaining the nationally expected Level 4 or above. In 2002, it achieved its 86 per cent target in English and exceeded it in

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

mathematics. The proportion of pupils attaining above nationally expected levels was

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 Early learning goals are expectations for most children to reach by the end of the Foundation Stage. They refer to achievements children make in the following six areas of learning; communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; personal, social and emotional development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical and creative development. Coniston C of E Primary School - 12 well above average. Sixty-four per cent achieved Level 5 in English and 36 per cent in mathematics, compared to the respective national averages of 29 and 27 per cent. It is likely that the school will be close to achieving its challenging target of 93 per cent of pupils to achieve Level 4 or above in 2003. Good, and often very good teaching, especially in Years 5 and 6, supported by the school’s effective implementation of its strategies for literacy and numeracy, promote high standards. Pupils are keen to

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

learn and to succeed and teachers enable pupils to extend their literacy and numeracy skills in a good range of subjects.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4 The school makes good provision for pupils of all abilities. Teachers plan and organise a good range of learning activities to meet pupils’ differing learning needs. More-able pupils are challenged well to apply and extend their skills and knowledge to attain above expected levels for their age. Average and lower-attaining pupils are equally keen to improve their work and respond very well to challenging and interesting activities. Many benefit from additional guidance and support and achieve well. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards their targets on their good quality individual education plans. They receive good support from teaching and support staff. Many attain standards that meet those expected for their age.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5 Pupils’ attainment in information and communication technology is above nationally expected levels at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Good resources and effective specialist teaching extend pupils’ skills successfully, although pupils are not always given enough opportunities to apply their skills regularly outside of the specialist sessions. Pupils attain very good standards in art and design throughout the school. Enthusiastic teaching, promoted by good subject knowledge, and supported by artists-in-residence and artists from the local community enable pupils to achieve high standards. Pupils achieve above average standards in geography and history. They use their good literacy and numeracy skills, for example, in their interesting local studies to produce some high quality work. Pupils attain nationally expected standards in physical education and design and technology. They attain standards in

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

religious education that meet those outlined in the locally agreed syllabus. Standards in music are below nationally expected levels at the end of Year 6. There was insufficient evidence to make an overall judgement in music at the end of Year 2. The use of a part-time specialist teacher is improving standards, although this has yet to raise standards to expected levels at the end of Year 6.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

6 At the time of the last inspection children were judged to have positive attitudes to their school. This has been maintained and children’s attitudes are good. Children’s involvement in the day-to-day life of the school is very good; they are keen to be involved in discussion through the school council and in circle time. Children behave very well in and around school. They are courteous and polite; they welcome visitors in a warm and caring manner. The relationships throughout the school are very good and this is a strength of the school.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

7 Staff, led by the headteacher, set very good examples in their relationships with one another and with the children. They are very good role models and this is reflected in the way children relate to one another. Older children are especially caring with the younger children. Social inclusion is given a high priority in the school, and children’s caring attitudes to each other reflect very well the caring ethos of the school. Throughout the time of the inspection no apparent aggression was observed and there have been no exclusions. Children learn enthusiastically and respond very well Coniston C of E Primary School - 13 in lessons; they co-operate well and listen to each other’s ideas. Children respond well to each other at play, in a boisterous game of rugby older children welcomed the inclusion of the younger children and consideration was shown for them. Through discussion at the school council children show maturity when ideas are discussed

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

and the safety of outdoor activities are considered.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

8 The personal development of children is very good. They undertake various tasks around the school, which help in the day-to-day life of the school. They have a strong awareness of the needs of others and have raised funds for several charities including Blue Peter and the Christmas Child charity. They also join in community fund raising for charity such as the Water for Life charity where they worked in co- operation with the local Methodist church. Children talk enthusiastically about their life in the school and their favourite lessons. They have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. The very good personal development of children ensures they develop respect for the feelings of each other and for those of the wider community.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9 Attendance levels at the school are good and children are happy to come to school. The school focuses well on maintaining this good level of attendance. Children arrive punctually and lessons start promptly. Through the daily life of the school, children’s understanding and respect for others reflects the caring ethos of the school and its links within the community.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

10 Teaching is good overall. It is sound in the Foundation Stage. There are examples of good teaching in all year groups. It is often very good for infants and juniors, and occasionally excellent, especially for older juniors. Teaching has improved since the last inspection and confirms parents’ positive views about teaching quality. Teaching was good in 14 out of the 34 lessons observed. It was very good in a further 11 lessons and one lesson was excellent. There was no unsatisfactory teaching. An analysis of pupils’ work since the start of the school year confirms the good teaching. Infant and junior teachers have high expectations of pupils’ approach to work and of the standard and the amount achieved. Pupils respond well and achieve good standards in many subjects. Teaching in English and mathematics is good and often very good. It promotes high standards in both literacy and numeracy. Teachers

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

encourage pupils to apply their good literacy and numeracy skills in a wide range of subjects. This enables them to extend their skills, knowledge and understanding successfully and promote above expected standards, for example, in science, history and information and communication technology.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

11 Teachers manage their classes very well to ensure that pupils sustain their interest and concentration and try to achieve the lesson objective. Many have good subject knowledge, for example, in science, art and information and communication technology. They use it effectively to extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding. For example, in a very good science lesson for Year 5, the teacher’s understanding of the rotation of the earth was used very successfully to improve pupils’ knowledge and understanding of how it effects the seasons in different parts of the world. Teachers use a very good range of teaching methods in many subjects to grasp pupils’ interest and attention. For example, in a very good literacy lesson for Years 5 and 6, the teacher used the local area and the expertise of visiting adults to enhance pupils’ knowledge of life in the area during the Victorian era. Pupils were very excited at

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

being challenged to write their own play-script of a Victorian scene that could be used for a film about safety in the local mine. They were highly motivated and worked very well in their groups to complete their scripts. Teachers use questions effectively to Coniston C of E Primary School - 14 extend pupils’ thinking and improve the quality of their answers. For example, in a good infants numeracy lesson, the teacher repeatedly challenged pupils to explain ‘How did you work it out?’ and ‘Is there another way?’ She extended pupils’ knowledge successfully by requiring them to apply their knowledge, for example, ‘Can you use 6 coins to total 12p? Can you now use some different coins and get the same total?’

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

12 Teachers plan their lessons in detail and use time and resources well to maintain a good pace to lessons. They share the learning objective with the class so that pupils know what they are trying to achieve. Teachers tell pupils exactly how long they have to complete the activity. Some teachers ensure that the brisk pace is maintained throughout the lesson. For example, in a very good Year 3 and 4 science lesson, the teacher regularly reminded pupils how long they had left and what she expected them to have achieved. She then encouraged them to prepare their work so that they could share it with others in the end-of-lesson feedback activity. The brisk pace and the good organisation resulted in pupils making very good progress in their learning and sharing their knowledge well to promote other pupils’ understanding.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

13 Pupils of different abilities are taught well. Teachers use a good range of activities to ensure that these are matched well to pupils’ differing attainment levels. They provide more-able pupils with extension activities that require them to apply their skills and knowledge, for example, in science and mathematics. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is good. Teachers work closely with the special educational needs co-ordinator to assess and identify pupils’ needs. They draw up good individual education plans and provide clear learning targets. Teaching and support staff work very well together to offer good help and support in a wide range of subjects. They use specific targets very effectively to ensure that pupils with special educational needs are included fully, for example, in class literacy and numeracy discussions. Teachers use assessment information to identify targets for pupils to

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

improve their work, especially in literacy and numeracy. These targets are shared with pupils, for example, Year 5 and 6 pupils write their numeracy targets in the front of the exercise book. However, there was little evidence of teachers using these targets to inform teaching plans, to refer to them often when marking pupils’ work or to review them regularly to see if a pupil has achieved his or her target. Discussions with pupils confirmed that many were unsure why the teacher had selected their specific improvement target or how close they were to achieving it. An analysis of pupils’ work showed some inconsistencies between classes in the use of homework, although overall teachers use it soundly, particularly in literacy and numeracy, to consolidate and extend pupils’ skills and knowledge.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

14 The quality of teaching in the Foundation Stage varies. It is sound overall with some good teaching seen in lessons in physical development and in knowledge and understanding of the world. Children make satisfactory progress overall towards their early learning goals. Those with special educational needs make good progress as a result of carefully planned tasks to extend their learning. However, teachers do not use on-going assessment information satisfactorily to ensure that they plan work that challenges most children, particularly in communication, language and literacy and in mathematics. This does not ensure that children always extend their skills, knowledge and understanding consistently. Coniston C of E Primary School - 15

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

15 There have been good improvements in the key issues identified in the previous inspection. The curriculum is much better balanced and more relevant to pupils’ needs. There is now good use of the local environment and schemes of work across subjects are better planned. There have been good improvements in provision for information and communication technology.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

16 The quality and range of learning opportunities for the Foundation Stage are sound overall. Teachers organise a sound range of learning activities in the six areas of learning. They do not use on-going assessment information, in line with national guidance, to match activities to the range of children’s needs. The quality and range of learning opportunities for the infants and juniors are good with particularly good enrichment opportunities for pupils to gain experience outside the school on field trips in many subjects such as English, science, history, art and geography. The curriculum is broad, balanced and very relevant to the needs of the pupils with the teaching of French for the older juniors being a successful initiative. The programme for personal, social and health education is satisfactory. All classes have circle time and some of these sessions are good. Sex education and drugs education are taught

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

as part of the science and physical education curriculum and are included in the broad syllabus of healthy living. Visiting experts support this teaching. All statutory requirements for the curriculum are met.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

17 Teachers plan well for lessons to ensure that topics links subjects effectively to promote pupils’ learning. Good examples of this are in English, history and geography where the subject matter for play-scripts is informed by studying census data for the town and by visiting the area to help pupils to put in stage directions and location shots. An excellent art lesson was given added impetus by using pictures from the religious education topic to help pupils to understand specific artistic techniques.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

18 The implementation of the literacy strategy is good. Teachers integrate reading and writing well so that pupils reinforce their learning successfully. They apply their understanding in other subjects. The literacy sessions have brisk and interesting introductions and many stimulating final sessions. There is not yet enough reading aloud in lessons across the curriculum to promote greater understanding of what is being read. The numeracy strategy has also been effectively introduced. Pupils use their knowledge of number in a variety of other lessons such as in science and in geography where they use graphs to explain climate differences between countries.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

19 There is very good provision for pupils with special educational needs. The very good links with local agencies ensure that pupils with specific individual needs receive relevant teaching. All staff are involved in the writing of individual education plans for pupils and they review targets regularly. Teaching assistants are effectively deployed and liaise well with class teachers to ensure that all pupils are involved fully in the range of learning activities. Boys and girls play well together and work collaboratively in lessons. Pupils with special educational needs are valued members of their class groups. Pupils who have particular gifts or talents are identified and given extension work to challenge them to attain high standards.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

20 The provision of extra curricular activities is very good. The school provides a rich variety of opportunities for art, drama, music, sport and visits outside school, all of which give pupils a broader view of the world. Most clubs are well attended. Community links are very good. There are significant contributions to the school’s Coniston C of E Primary School - 16 extra reading programme from people living locally. Experts from organisations such as the mountain rescue service, and writers and artists share their expertise with the pupils and encourage them to think about their community. Good links exist with local churches and farmers. There are also good communications with the nearby secondary school, especially in English and physical education, and regular visits by teachers to each school. There is a thriving support group made up of local primary schools that share experiences and resources.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

21 Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. This is an improvement since the last inspection because the school now provides very good opportunities for pupils to learn about their local environment and cultural traditions. This has been achieved by visits out of school and many visitors working in school.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

22 Provision for pupils’ spiritual development in good. Pupils develop more confidence to share their feelings and emotions within their class group, particularly in circle time. The youngest children in school showed their delight when their ‘volcano’ erupted with pink bubbles! Older pupils questioned ‘ the meaning of us on the earth’ and ‘why is our planet the only one with life?’ when they studied the solar system. Pupils show empathy with others and are very sensitive to the needs of those who find some of their work more difficult. Their work in the local environment in science and geography opens their eyes to the wonder of the natural beauty of what is around them. They appreciate the wonder of pattern in natural objects and surroundings. In their art work, they become aware of the range of qualities of Jesus, promoted through very effective use of art and by looking at the work of a range of artists. Older

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

pupils expressed their feelings well when they visited the church. They commented that ‘ I heard silence and I feel content.’ Good work is celebrated through weekly good work assemblies. Some assemblies promote pupils’ spiritual development, although teachers do not consistently ensure that the time given to reflection is focused clearly on a particular aspect of the assembly rather than just being a quiet moment.

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

23 Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is good. Pupils understand clearly what is acceptable behaviour and what isn’t. Each class discusses and selects their own class rules and these are agreed as a class. Pupils clearly understand the results of their actions on others. These qualities form the basis of discussion in their circle time sessions. For example, in Year 3, pupils considered how they care for each other and used words such as ‘ compromise, being thoughtful and considerate’ to describe aspects of their behaviour. As a result, pupils are considerate and display good behaviour, both in the classroom and the playground. Through a range of subjects, pupils are offered opportunities to develop their confidence to work together. For example, good collaborative work was seen in a Year 1 and 2 science lesson when pupils worked together to sort light sources into two sets. Pupils develop a

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

good understanding of behaviour in different settings when they worked outdoors in geography and enjoyed a residential visit to Liverpool. Pupils have plenty of opportunities to relate to people in the wider community. The older pupils developed good independent skills when they organised and ran a Blue Peter bring and buy sale to raise money for charity. There is a school council and pupils are very enthusiastic and confident when discussing the work undertaken by this council. The younger children share ideas about what makes people special. This develops their self- awareness and helps them to make judgements when considering good and bad aspects of people’s behaviour. Pupils have good opportunities in their religious education and science lessons to discuss the reactions of the community to the events of September 11 th , 2001. They share their ideas about farming, fox hunting and tourism and the effect of these on their own lives.

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

Coniston C of E Primary School - 17 24 Provision for pupils’ cultural development is very good and has improved since the last inspection. The school has good links with all local churches and the Crusader Youth Club. Pupils study different religions and the older pupils visit the Hindu temple in Preston and welcome a visitor into school to talk about Hinduism. Younger pupils use the local environment well and consider areas for improvement. Older pupils make very good use of the immediate environment when studying the natural world and special places in science, geography, history, design and technology and art. Their work in these areas is greatly enhanced by working with a microbiologist and a geologist, both in the local environment and in school. Good links are formed with the National Trust and the local Priestley outdoor centre. Here, pupils have very good opportunities to develop their problem solving skills when challenged to cross

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

streams and build bridges using canoes fastened together. Older pupils take part in a residential visit to Liverpool and, during this time, they visit the Tate museum. As part of a dance project, a West Indian dancer worked with all the pupils in school. Many visitors work with pupils making felt, working as artists- and writers-in-residence. Pupils use a range of instruments from different cultures in their music lessons. Pupils extend their work in music well when they take part in the Blue Peter Prom- Concert in London.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

25 The care of children in this school is very good. Staff know and understand their pupils well, their care ensures that they are happy and secure. All staff know the procedures to be followed to ensure that children are well protected and the level of welfare is very good. Social inclusion is a strong feature. It is well promoted in the daily life of the school in an atmosphere where everyone is valued. Very effective procedures are in place to promote all the related matters of health, safety and security to a high level. Parents appreciate the way staff care for their children. Procedures to monitor and promote good attendance are good. The school works hard to maintain its good levels of attendance, whilst having an understanding of the needs of parents and families who are involved in the local tourist industry. Procedures for monitoring and promoting good behaviour are very good. Pupils are

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

aware of what is expected, having been involved, for example, through the school council, in discussing and agreeing the rules. Effective lunch-time procedures, for example, the dining table seating arrangements, contribute effectively to pupils’ understanding of good behaviour and their personal development.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

26 There are satisfactory procedures in place for the monitoring of children’s academic performance. The school has developed a sound range of procedures for assessing and monitoring pupils’ progress and attainment. They are good in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science, and have improved since the last inspection. The school uses an increased range of tests, for example, in mathematics, to monitor pupils’ progress against nationally expected levels. Assessment procedures have yet to be developed fully in some other subjects, for example, history and geography. The headteacher, working closely with staff and governors, is using a sound range of assessment information to inform school attainment targets. Teachers use on-going assessment information to inform their lesson planning. They identify targets in literacy and numeracy for junior pupils, although do not consistently assess and

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

review pupils’ progress towards achieving their targets. The special educational needs co-ordinator keeps detailed assessments and records and teachers use them very well to match their learning activities to the needs of these pupils. The co- ordinator also uses them successfully to inform special educational needs pupils and their parents of their progress towards the learning targets identified in their individual education plans. Coniston C of E Primary School - 18 27 Through the school’s programme for personal, social and health education pupils receive good personal support and guidance. The strong caring ethos, which is part of the daily life of the school, ensures very good and caring behaviour, which is carefully monitored. The very effective support provided by staff makes a positive contribution to children’s well being, and enables them to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered. There are good procedures in place for supporting

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

children’s personal development. All staff know the children well and good support is given to enhance children’s overall development.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

28 Throughout the inspection parents spoken to gave a positive view of the school. Of the 79 questionnaires issued only 32 were returned, of these 97 per cent of parents said their child was happy in school and over 90 per cent of parents thought the teaching was good and that the school is well led and managed. Through the questionnaires a minority of parents felt they were not well informed about their child’s progress, however parents during the inspection did not confirm this.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

29 The school has good links with most parents to consolidate and improve children’s learning, for example, in reading. The majority of parents appreciate the extra curricular activities that are available for their children. The school appreciates the good involvement they have with parents; they value highly the contribution parents make to the life of the school and the community. The staff led by the headteacher are always helpful and supportive, and the majority of parents feel the school is willing to listen to their views.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

30 The quality of information for parents is good. Home-school agreements are in place. Children’s reports are very detailed and give a clear indication of their progress. They identify targets for improvement. A few parents indicated that they were not kept informed about their children’s progress towards achieving the targets. The school prospectus is clear and helpful and newsletters give parents a very clear indication of the life of the school. All staff make parents very welcome with opportunities to know about the curriculum and their child’s progress. This provides parents with many opportunities to share in the life of the school.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

31 Parents give good support to the school through the various social and fund raising events organised by the very active Friends of the School. The work of this group raises considerable funds and enhances the life of children in the school. It ensures the school is placed firmly as an important part of the community.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

32 The leadership and management are good. They have been maintained at the standard reported previously. The headteacher provides good, positive leadership, especially in promoting standards of teaching and learning. Parents value the leadership that the headteacher gives to the school. He works closely with a good staff team and a supportive and influential governing body to focus on improvement and the school’s strategic development. Last year they reviewed the school’s mission statement – ‘Work hard, Aim high, Have fun’. It is reflected clearly in the work of the school as pupils enjoy school, approach their work conscientiously and achieve well. The school has made very good progress since the last inspection, particularly on the key issues of using the local environment to broaden the range of educational experiences and challenging more-able pupils. Staffing changes in the last year have

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

Coniston C of E Primary School - 19 limited the management of the school’s provision for children in the Foundation Stage. Planning and assessment procedures are not developed enough to monitor closely children’s progress towards their early learning goals in all the required areas of learning.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

33 The school has developed good procedures for monitoring and evaluating teaching and learning. The headteacher has worked closely with the literacy co-ordinator, advisory staff from the local education authority and members of the governing body to monitor standards, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Lesson observations, some linked to the school’s good performance management procedures, have been used well to identify areas for development. There have been some opportunities to follow up the action taken on these issues, although these are not always rigorous enough to ensure improvement. The heavy teaching commitment of the headteacher and other key staff limits the time available to evaluate consistently the impact of initiatives and new strategies. The headteacher, who has specific responsibility for co-ordinating mathematics, is supported well by staff, particularly those with responsibilities for the other core subjects of English and science. Some subject co-

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

ordinators are monitoring attainment standards regularly, for example, through collecting samples of pupils’ work, although this is not established in all subjects. Staff and governors contribute effectively to the good school development plan that gives a clear focus to school improvement. It links closely to staff professional development and to the school’s financial planning. The school is beginning to use assessment information successfully to set challenging attainment targets and identify groups of pupils who need additional support or further extension. The broader use of targets to promote higher standards, for example, individual pupil or group targets, is not yet established. Teachers are beginning to identify individual targets, for example, in literacy and numeracy. However, many are not specific enough or shared with parents to provide a sharp focus on improvement.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

34 The governing body continues to provide good support to the headteacher and staff. Governors are kept fully informed about school developments by regular reports, meetings and visits to the school. They have a good knowledge and understanding of the priorities for improvement and are influential in shaping the direction for the school, for example, through strategic planning and agreeing attainment targets. The chair of governors maintains frequent contact with the headteacher and provides an effective and consistent link between governors and staff. Governors monitor spending levels closely to ensure the efficient use of funds. They apply the principles of best value effectively. They receive good, detailed financial information from the school’s financial adviser and the efficient office staff. They monitor pupil numbers closely and plan strategically to finance improvements and minimise the impact of possible fluctuations

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

in school funding. For example, the current higher than usual level of budget carry-over is intended to improve facilities by extending the school building and support staffing levels in line with strategic plan. Governors fulfil their statutory duties soundly and make a good constructive contribution to improving the school’s effectiveness.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

35 The management of the arrangements for pupils with special educational needs is good. The co-ordinator has established effective procedures for assessing and identifying pupils’ needs and these are used consistently by all teachers. She maintains detailed records of the specific support given to individual pupils and regularly reviews pupils’ progress towards their learning targets in their individual education plans. Teaching and support staff plan and work together very well to ensure that all pupils are included fully in learning activities. The school has very good links with external specialist agencies, for example, the local education authority’s support services. Staff have benefited from good quality training to improve their knowledge and understanding of specific special Coniston C of E Primary School - 20 needs. These have resulted in very good support being given to those pupils with these

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

36 The school is well-staffed with a sufficient number of teachers who share an appropriate range of skills and expertise. It makes very effective use of the specialist skills of some part-time teachers, for example, in information and communication technology and music. The school uses its Standards Fund and funds from a local charity to enhance the range of learning activities for its pupils by providing French lessons for Year 5 and 6 pupils. Newly-qualified teachers are supported well. The induction programme is used well to enable new teachers to settle well and to receive good support from the headteacher, other staff and advisory staff from the local education authority. Opportunities for staff to attend courses are good and many are linked effectively to the school’s improvement priorities. The teacher with responsibility for staff development ensures that staff are kept well-informed about training

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

opportunities. Teachers share the knowledge and skills gained with their colleagues. There is a good number of learning support assistants who provide good support to pupils in lessons, particularly those with special educational needs. Many make other valuable contributions to the school, for example, by supporting literacy and numeracy groups and organising extra-curricular activities. The secretarial and clerical staff contribute very effectively to the efficient administration and organisation of the school.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

37 The accommodation is very good. It provides an attractive and stimulating working environment enhanced successfully by the very good use of displays of pupils’ work. The school makes good use of its large hall and spacious playing-field, although there was limited evidence of the library being used consistently. The provision for outdoor play for nursery and reception children is limited. The school is planning to improve this area and the school’s administrative area. The range and quality of learning resources are good, for example, in information and communication technology, science and physical education. They have improved since the last inspection and are contributing to improving standards. The range and quality of reading resources are not sufficient to promote and extend pupils’ interest in reading. Resources in music are insufficient to promote a full range of learning activities, as was reported in

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

38 In the context of its many strengths, the headteacher, staff and governors should;

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) improve the provision for children in the Foundation Stage by; • ensuring that teachers use national guidance to enable children to make good progress towards their early learning goals in all required areas of learning • use assessment information consistently to identify clear learning objectives and match activities to children’s learning needs (paragraphs 1, 14, 32 and 41) (2) improve teachers’ use of on-going assessment information to inform pupils’ improvement targets and to review regularly their progress towards achieving them (paragraphs 13, 26, 33, 63 and 65)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition to the key issues listed above, the following less important issue should be considered for inclusion in the action plan;

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

To improve reading standards by: Coniston C of E Primary School - 21 • offering more opportunities for pupils to read aloud in class, both from their own writing and from other sources • extending the range and quality of reading books and more imaginative and frequent use of the library to promote pupils’ reading skills

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

This can be found in paragraphs 18, 37, 55 and 58. Coniston C of E Primary School - 22

p.21

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 21

p.22

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.22

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 about, three percentage points.

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 2 74

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 6

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR– Y6

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 2

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 15

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 0

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 8

p.22

Attendance

School data 5.0 School data 0.0 Coniston C of E Primary School - 23 National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

p.22

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Coniston C of E Primary School - 24

p.23

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 2 4 6

p.24

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.24

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

Percentage of pupils School 67 (89) 100 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

p.24

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.24

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

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

p.24

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. As the school has fewer than 11 boys or girls in the year group, the table omits totals for boys and girls.

p.24

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 6 8 14

p.24

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.24

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

Percentage of pupils School 86 (83) 93 (92) 100 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

p.24

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.24

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

Percentage of pupils School 86 (100) 93 (92) 100 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

p.24

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. As the school has fewer than 11 boys or girls in the year group, the table omits totals for boys and girls. Coniston C of E Primary School - 25

p.24

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.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background - - -

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background - - -

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani - - -

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi - - -

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background - - -

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean - - -

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background - - -

p.25

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.

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 4.5 Financial year 2001 / 02

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 16

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 226,572

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 5 Total expenditure 231,868

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 45 Expenditure per pupil 2,665

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 35,948

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 0 Balance carried forward to next year 30,652

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 0

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 10 Coniston C of E Primary School - 26 Number of pupils per FTE adult 5

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1.9

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 3.2

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Coniston C of E Primary School - 27

p.26

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 44 47 3 6 0

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 47 41 6 3 3

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 34 38 16 6 6

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 25 40 22 13 0

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 69 16 9 3 3

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 50 31 3 3 13

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 41 41 9 6 3

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 44 47 3 0 6

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 41 44 6 3 6

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 31 41 13 6 9 Coniston C of E Primary School - 28 Coniston C of E Primary School - 29

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

39 At the time of the inspection, four children attend the nursery for afternoon sessions and nine children attend full time in the reception class. When the present nursery children entered school, their attainment was in line with that expected for their age. When the present reception class entered school, their communication, language and literacy skills and their mathematical skills were below those expected. Their personal and social skills were well below the standards expected on entry to the Foundation Stage. However, the reception children have made satisfactory progress and are in line to achieve the early learning goals, in five of the six areas of learning, by the time they enter Year 1. Although satisfactory progress has been made, their personal and social skills are below the standards expected by the time they enter Year 1.

p.29

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

40 The progress of the children, particularly in their personal and social development, has not been helped by the changes in staffing since the start of the current school year. A newly qualified teacher was responsible for the reception class for the first term, to cover the absence of the reception class teacher. She planned her work carefully with the nursery leader to meet the needs of both age groups. The reception class teacher returned in January for two days each week, the other days being taught by the new teacher. This results in two teachers and the nursery leader planning together to cover the work in the Foundation Stage. The overall provision is sound and medium term planning is satisfactory. Teachers do not consistently identify the learning objectives clearly for individual lessons, particularly in communication, language and literacy and in their mathematical development lessons.

p.29

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

41 Teachers have not used national guidance to ensure that the Foundation Stage curriculum is developed fully. Teachers use on-going assessment to check on children’s progress but this mainly focuses on their personal and social development. They do not link it clearly to the early learning goals, particularly in communication, language and literacy and in mathematics. During the inspection, the newly qualified teacher and the nursery leader were observed. Teaching was sound overall. There were some examples of good practice, for example, in promoting children’s physical development. Teachers did not always use assessment information satisfactorily to ensure that they matched activities to the range of differing learning needs.

p.29

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

42 Parents bring their children into the classroom prior to the start of the school day and chat happily to the teacher and other parents. They are not involved in activities with their child during this time. Plenty of information is sent home to parents explaining the work that takes place in the classroom but no parents were seen working in the Foundation Stage during the inspection.

p.29

Personal, social and emotional development

43 Teaching in this area is sound and children make satisfactory progress. Most children have significant weaknesses in this area of their development. They have not yet settled to the routines in the Foundation Stage and do not achieve their early learning goals. They are unsure when given choices of activities and seldom stay on one activity for a reasonable period of time. They work alongside each other in the Coniston C of E Primary School - 30 sand and water trays but there is very little discussion. Children need regular reminders to be polite to others during their activities. Both nursery and reception children find it difficult to share toys and equipment. For example, when playing in the fire station, one younger child dominated the use of the “fire hose” and would not share it with others. Although they played in the role-play area, they did not take on the role of fireman and use appropriate vocabulary to act out and talk about the things

p.29

Personal, social and emotional development

they do. The inter-action between the teacher, nursery leader and the children is not developed enough to encourage them to be more creative and imaginative in their chosen activities. A small number of children in the reception group are still not confident to share their ideas on a regular basis though sensitive teaching, in circle time, is helping them to gain this confidence and the class teacher gives them good support. They clear up after their own activities but do not see the need to help others and need regular reminders. Children think about the feelings of others during story time and consider whether the child in the story is happy or sad. They identify well people who are special to them and give sound reasons why. For example, they identify ‘ getting a hug, someone who prepares their food, sharing toys’ as times when they feel others are special people.

p.30

Communication, language and literacy

44 Teaching is sound in this area of learning and most children are in line to achieve the early learning goals by the time they enter Year 1. Children develop their understanding of initial letter shape and sound well when they identify correctly objects beginning with a particular letter from a selection of objects on a tray. They follow the story carefully when the teacher reads “ The Dream” book and identify the front cover and title correctly. Most write their first name with some degree of accuracy. Tasks are planned to meet the needs of all abilities but teachers do not always use detailed assessment information to ensure that they challenge children and help them to extend their writing and reading skills. Much emphasis is placed on practising writing their letter shapes and some opportunities are given for children to express themselves through their emerging writing. However, the range of

p.30

Communication, language and literacy

opportunities to encourage more free writing and to enable children to build and write their own words is not developed fully. The focus of the teaching needs to clearly identify extending literacy skills rather than children using their time to colour pictures. Satisfactory opportunities are planned for children to develop their speaking and listening skills. They listen carefully to taped sounds and successfully identify animal sounds, giving good reasons to support their ideas. For example, one child thought ‘ a caterpillar was eating a leaf’ when listening to the sound of crisps being eaten. Time is identified for the focus of the teaching and learning to be speaking and listening. Reception pupils are also developing their confidence to contribute, with good support and encouragement from the class teacher, during circle time.

p.30

Communication, language and literacy

45 Children have a sound attitude to books and reading. The more-able reception children recognise some initial letters and familiar words. Books are taken home but there is no established routine for this. Children have a reading diary and these show that they share books with an adult on a regular basis. However, some parents do not add written comments to these diaries. A different set of high frequency word cards are sent home each week and reception children’s ability to recognise high frequency words is better than their reading. Children listen to stories well in school and often contribute their own ideas. Teachers use activities successfully for children to choose from, such as the letter bingo game, to extend children’s knowledge and understanding of, for example, the difference between capital and small letters.

p.30

Mathematical development

Coniston C of E Primary School - 31 46 Satisfactory teaching means that most children make satisfactory progress and are in line to achieve the early learning goals by the time they enter Year 1. Nursery children count confidently from 1 to 10 and some recognise, name and correctly choose number cards from 1 to 5. The nursery leader uses ‘How many?’ questions successfully to encourage children to count plates and saucepans. She does not maximise opportunities to extend their understanding and their mathematical vocabulary, for example, by asking ‘ Are there more plates than saucepans?’ The older children enjoy using number fans to show their understanding of numbers to 10 and beyond. Half the group accurately show the number 14 and match this to the number on the number line. They are beginning to show an understanding of ‘one more than’ and one less than’ when working with numbers to 10. Good use is made

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Mathematical development

of computer programs to reinforce their understanding of number. Lower ability children develop basic number skills and add on one while a more able child can count successfully from 20 to 29, describing 30 as ’20,10’.

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Mathematical development

47 Nursery children successfully match animals to their homes and put three pictures in order showing how to make jelly correctly. Reception children identify triangles, squares, and circles correctly when using these on the computer to create a house shape. The more-able children sort shapes and colours correctly. There is an over- reliance on published schemes and this limits children’s opportunities to explore mathematical ideas in more practical ways. The medium term planning is satisfactory but too many learning objectives are identified in individual lessons. This means that the particular focus of the lesson is not maintained throughout the lesson. Children are not given a range of opportunities to develop their understanding of the particular aspect being taught. For example, where the teacher’s focus in the lesson was to ‘count on’ from a given number to reach 10, none of the three groups were

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

48 Teaching and learning are satisfactory in this area of their learning and most children are in line to achieve the early learning goals by the time they enter Year 1. The theme for this half term is ‘Fire’ and plans are in place for children to visit the local fire station. Children begin to develop an early understanding of how materials change when they are mixed together when they keenly watch a demonstration of ‘ a volcano erupting.’ This was linked well to the “Dinosaurs and all that rubbish” story where the class teacher focused carefully on the volcanoes in the story. They created their own ‘volcanoes’ and knew that “ we need ingredients” to make it work. They showed real excitement and enthusiasm as they got ready to add the vinegar and knew that “It’s going to go whoosh!” All the children achieved success and thoroughly enjoyed watching the reaction when the vinegar was added. This work was extended well

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

when they looked at the globe and were helped to find volcanoes. They found the names of them very amusing!

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

49 Children with special educational needs made pizzas in a very small group and learned to use a knife and a grater safely. Additional teacher support also helped them to develop further their speaking and listening skills. Children use a range of collectable materials to develop their creative skills. They look at different ways to fix things together to make a model. The reception children show good mouse skills when using the computer. They ‘pick’ and ‘drag’ items on the screen to successfully find the dinosaur and the teddy bear and quickly find different places in the picture to hide them again for others to find. They know how to use correctly number and literacy programs in other areas of their learning. Coniston C of E Primary School - 32

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Creative Development

50 Children make satisfactory progress in this area of their development, promoted by sound teaching, and are in line to achieve the early learning goals by the time they enter Year 1. Opportunities to use paint are available each day and the focus during the inspection was ‘warm colours.’ Children work independently at the paint easels, know that ‘red and yellow makes orange’ and identify correctly when they have not used yellow on their painting. They use these colours well to create fire pictures. All the children printing green patterns to create a large dragon for their display. Plenty of opportunities are planned for children to develop their fine motor skills by using brushes, pencils, chalks, pastels and crayons. They also develop these skills when rolling and cutting play dough. Children have sound opportunities to sing and remember well the words of favourite songs and rhymes, for example, ‘Five Currant

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Creative Development

Buns’ and ‘Five little Speckled Frogs. They begin to understand how to hold and play un-tuned musical instruments and use music well to reinforce their counting skills.

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Physical development

51 Children make sound progress in their physical development and are in line to achieve the early learning goals by the time they reach Year 1. Nursery and reception children work together when they use the hall. They find a space quickly and show a good awareness of others. They demonstrate good stretching skills when moving round the hall. Children listen and respond well to the teacher’s instructions. Good use was made of the bean-bags to check their colour recognition and children demonstrated well how to balance a bean bag on their backs. Most children showed a sound sense of balance and made sound suggestions as to where to balance the bean-bag. The nursery leader gave good support in this lesson and the class teacher made the activities harder as children had to move and balance at the same time. Many children found this difficult to achieve. Children worked in pairs and boys and girls worked well together. Children listened carefully when they cooled down after an

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Physical development

energetic lesson. The class teacher used opportunities in the lesson well to reinforce children’s physical skills. The teaching and learning were good. The lesson seen was well planned. The teacher had a calm approach and there was good progression throughout the lesson. No outdoor play was seen during the inspection but the outdoor play area has already been identified by the school as an area for development.

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ENGLISH

52 Pupils attain standards in writing that are above average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Reading standards are more variable. They are improving in the infant classes and are now more in line with the national expectations. Pupils in the junior classes generally read fluently but a minority of pupils still needs a lot of prompting to use clues to help them to read new words. More able pupils in the junior classes read very well. There have been good improvements in English since the last inspection. Writing is much better and higher attaining pupils are doing well now. Pupils are very confident in speaking, and oral skills are better than in many schools. They mostly listen well, especially to stories read by the teacher and when their classmates are speaking. Pupils with special educational needs are fully included in lessons with teachers phrasing questions very carefully so that pupils are able to express their

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ENGLISH

opinions. A good example of this was seen in the infant class where a boy’s knowledge of farming was used to explain simple facts about a cow’s horn. There is little difference between the performance of boys and girls. Coniston C of E Primary School - 33 53 In the infant class standards in speaking and listening are good. Very good direct teaching in the literacy hour ensures that all pupils have discussed ideas and have plenty to write about in follow-up activities. The teacher reinforces good spelling habits and checks pupils’ understanding of how sentences are constructed by introducing lively interactive games. This results in accurate and fluent writing in most pupils’ books. Lessons are fun and this fulfils a key aim of the school. Pupils achieve satisfactory standards in reading. High attaining readers enjoy talking about books and give dramatic and amusing readings of new versions of fairy tales such as “Jim

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ENGLISH

and the Beanstalk”. They describe how some words have a silent initial letter such as “k” in knee. They then pick out other examples unprompted as they read on. Less confident readers are developing good habits of sounding out words. Although their reading is slow, most have a sound understanding of the text. Standards have improved on the below average levels achieved in last year’s national tests for seven- year-olds.

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ENGLISH

54 There is a good standard of writing. Infant pupils achieve well over the year as their writing gains greater assurance and handwriting improves. More able pupils write well about a variety of topics such as how to groom a cat and newspaper accounts of Grace Darling’s exploits. Teachers encourage pupils to add to their stories with well- chosen questions, although sometimes correct too many spelling errors for the pupils to note and act upon. Lower attaining pupils use imaginative descriptive writing such as, “the rain falls heavily on the bright blue lake”. Writing becomes more controlled over the year and spelling and handwriting improve. Pupils learn to write for real audiences and the teacher includes pupils’ stories and poetry in books in the class libraries alongside other authors. More able pupils produce very careful and well- planned storybooks with lively illustrations.

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ENGLISH

55 In the junior classes, younger pupils speak well and are learning to be better listeners because teachers have well-structured lessons. In a lively conclusion to a literacy lesson there were some interesting attempts by pupils to express intensity in their language so that “a broad smile” became “my jaw nearly cracked.” Writing is improving because teachers allow pupils the time to think for themselves and encourage a quiet atmosphere. As a result most pupils are writing quite extensively and with greater accuracy. Teacher use good examples of writing by the class to encourage them to greater efforts. They enjoy these lessons and try hard. Reading is satisfactory and many pupils have improved over the year as they were below average at age seven. A few junior pupils are reluctant to look for clues on the page to help them with new words unless they are prompted to do so. Some are being given the chance to read work aloud to help them with their understanding. They

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ENGLISH

would benefit from even more chances to do this. Pupils with special educational needs are given very good individual support with their reading. This has helped them to raise their reading levels over the year.

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ENGLISH

56 Older pupils continue to achieve well. They organise themselves into teams to plan play scripts and then to work out how these might be staged and filmed. Imaginative teaching motivates the pupils and gives them the inspiration to work collaboratively. There is good variety and challenge in the tasks set. Pupils work in the local community with adults and also use word processors to improve their scripts. Work in literacy stretches across several subjects such as geography, history, science and art. There is very good use of the locality to stimulate pupils’ interest in writing. Some of the writing in history is very closely linked to the study of biographical writing in English. Coniston C of E Primary School - 34 57 The quality of teaching is good and often very good. The rapport between teachers and pupils is especially good and this results in lively and productive lessons. Lessons are well planned to allow reading, writing and speaking and listening to relate

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ENGLISH

logically to each other and help pupils to reinforce their learning. Teachers use support staff and adult helpers successfully to ensure that all pupils are kept busy in the class. They use the final session of the literacy hour well to set pupils fresh challenges rather than simply reviewing work done.

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ENGLISH

58 There is still some work to do to improve reading standards even more. Pupils do not read aloud often enough and although the “big books” for literacy are effective, there are too few attractive storybooks on display to excite pupils’ curiosity. The library is not used very often to promote the reading habit. English is well managed and thoughtfully led. There are clear plans to raise standards even higher and these are already showing some evidence of progress. The new portfolio of pupils’ writing is a very useful aid to assessing pupils’ progress and shows that teachers understand how to improve the quality of pupils’ work.

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MATHEMATICS

59 Pupils attain standards that are well above the national average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. This is a considerable improvement since the last inspection when pupils attained average standards. Although the number of pupils taking the national tests is small, inspectors confirm that attainment closely reflects the well above average results achieved by Year 6 in recent years. It has improved on the above average levels achieved by Year 2 pupils. The proportion of pupils achieving the levels expected nationally for their age is very high. The proportion achieving above expected levels is well above the national average. For example, 36 per cent of Year 6 pupils achieved Level 5 in last year’s tests compared with the national average of 27 per cent. Inspectors found that this proportion is likely to increase this year as many Year 6 pupils are already achieving above average levels. Some of the key factors in

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MATHEMATICS

enabling pupils to achieve these well above average levels include the consistently good teaching, especially in Years 2 and 6; pupils’ positive, enthusiastic attitudes to mathematics; the school’s effective numeracy strategy and the good use teachers make of national subject guidance to ensure that all aspects of mathematics are covered. This is a very good improvement on a key issue identified in the last inspection.

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MATHEMATICS

60 Pupils make good and often very good progress in developing their skills and knowledge in all required aspects. Pupils with special educational needs are given good support to enable them to be included fully in all activities and to receive additional individual guidance when needed. The school makes very good use of national support resources, for example, ‘Springboard’ activities, to provide individual and small group support. These are benefiting lower attaining pupils and those who have been identified as needing additional guidance on specific mathematical aspects. The effectiveness of these sessions contributes to the high standards attained. More-able pupils are challenged very successfully throughout the school. They achieve high standards, for example, in their number knowledge and understanding. There was some evidence of higher-attaining pupils applying their skills and knowledge to solve mathematical problems and investigations, for example,

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MATHEMATICS

when Year 6 pupils investigated factors and multiples. However, this was limited. More-able pupils are not challenged enough to apply and extend their skills and knowledge to attain consistently very high standards, for example, investigating mathematical formulae. Coniston C of E Primary School - 35 61 Almost all Year 2 pupils have good number knowledge and understanding for their age. They count confidently up to and back from 100. They use their understanding of place value to locate numbers accurately on a hundred square, for example, knowing that 76 is 10 more than 66 and 10 less than 86. They apply their mental skills, for example, adding to, and subtracting from 20, to work out money totals. More-able Year 2 pupils use their increasing knowledge of multiplication to achieve above expected standards, for example, to accurately work out the total costs of 10 objects at 4p each together with 2 at 10p each. Many use their knowledge effectively

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MATHEMATICS

to ‘partition’ the numbers to work out more difficult addition and subtraction problems, for example, separating tens and units successfully in 54 + 25 before adding them together to get 70 and 9. Junior pupils continue to extend their number skills and knowledge successfully to attain good standards. Many Year 3 and 4 pupils extend their range and use of different number strategies, for example, partitioning 96 into four 20’s, 10 and 6 before dividing by 4 and using repeated addition to solve how many passengers can travel on a train. Year 5 and 6 pupils build on earlier work very successfully, for example, in using fractions and decimals. They use their very good mental skills to rapidly work out the answers to multiplying or dividing decimal numbers by 10 or 100. Almost all Year 6 pupils have a very good knowledge and understanding of two-and three-dimensional shapes and their different properties.

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MATHEMATICS

They use a protractor to measure accurately different types of angles. They use their knowledge of these angles to make accurate estimates before measuring them, for example, knowing that a reflex angle is more than 90 degrees but less than 180.

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MATHEMATICS

62 Teaching in mathematics is good and often very good. Teachers manage their classes very well and use a good range of activities to develop pupils’ skills and knowledge. Teachers make good use of resources to provide extension activities for those who have completed the initial activities. They have high expectations over what they expect their classes to achieve. Pupils respond very positively and attain high standards in the quality and the amount of work achieved. For example, in a good Year 1 and 2 lesson, the teacher provided a good range of different activities to ensure that all pupils were applying and extending their knowledge. She constantly required pupils to explain the strategy they were using to solve the money problems. The teacher made very good use of the end-of-lesson feedback activity to ensure that pupils consolidated then extended their knowledge and understanding of different

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MATHEMATICS

amounts of money. Teachers use targeted questions, for example, ‘What is the next number?’ and ‘ How might you get this one wrong?’ to ensure that all pupils are listening and applying their knowledge. Most teachers involve pupils successfully in evaluating their work. For example, in a very good Year 6 lesson, the teacher challenged pupils to explain ‘what they had found out’. Their findings were shared with others in the class and other strategies were then explained. This enhanced pupils’ understanding of how to use different mental mathematical skills.

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MATHEMATICS

63 Some teachers make very good use of pupils assessing their own skills, for example, using a 360 degree protractor accurately. Pupils explained what they had found difficult and other pupils, when questioned by the teacher, explained how these difficulties could be overcome. Pupils were aware of what they needed to do to improve their work. They had specific improvement targets in their books, for example, ‘understand perimeter’. There was little evidence of teachers regularly assessing pupils’ progress towards these targets and few pupils were clear about how these targets could be achieved. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly although they do not consistently focus on ways in which pupils could improve its quality. Most teachers make good use of information and communication technology to support pupils’ work, for example, in data handling and in the regular use of an individual mathematical program that enables pupils to extend their skills and monitor their own

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MATHEMATICS

Coniston C of E Primary School - 36 progress. Pupils enjoyed this activity and were strongly motivated to try to achieve well.

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MATHEMATICS

64 The headteacher, in his role as co-ordinator for numeracy, provides a good example in promoting teaching and learning in the subject. He has worked closely with consultants from the local education authority to ensure that the school’s numeracy strategy has been implemented successfully. Improvements in staff planning have resulted in closer match of activities to pupils' needs in mixed-age and mixed ability classes. The headteacher uses a sound range of test results and other assessment information to track pupils’ progress, to inform groupings and to identify any pupils who would benefit from additional support. These procedures, together with some good resources, contribute towards pupils’ good achievement and their enjoyment of mathematics.

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SCIENCE

65 Standards are above the national average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 and these match the findings at the last inspection. Since the last inspection, there is a new subject co-ordinator, a new policy and scheme of work and good teaching resources. The co-ordinator has a very clear view of science in the school. In order to achieve improved results at Level 5, booster classes are to be provided and work is to be matched more closely to meet the different needs of pupils in Years 5 and 6. There is a clear focus in planning to link science to other subjects and the teaching of science is based on practical activities to promote pupils’ scientific enquiry skills. More emphasis is placed on the use of the local environment and there are strong links with literacy, geography and art. All teachers develop scientific language in discussions and in written work. Assessment takes place at the end of each unit of work but

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SCIENCE

inspection evidence supports the co-ordinator’s view that assessment needs to be extended further. Targets are set for pupils in Years 3 to 6. These are in the front of pupils’ books but the teachers’ marking does not refer to these targets in any of the books seen. Year 6 pupils are aware that the target is changed each term but feel that marking comments, linked to the targets, would encourage them to achieve these more quickly as they are keen to improve their work.

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SCIENCE

66 Pupils in Years 1 and 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching. Pupils remember well the experiment to find out if they can see in the dark. This was obviously enjoyed as they wish to do it again! They use this knowledge well to find out if objects can be seen in the dark by comparing different light sources. Pupils show good investigative skills when they predict that ‘foil makes the light brighter.’ Good opportunities are planned for pupils to work together and this encourages good discussion. Pupils give good reasons why the paper object they put in the pin hole box cannot be seen as clearly as the one the teacher placed in the box. For example, one pupil explained “You can see it but it’s not as clear as the animal because it isn’t as big.” Pupils are challenged by their work and they respond very well, thinking carefully and sharing their ideas. “You can see foil better because it is shiny and

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SCIENCE

reflects the light well” was the response when using foil instead of card. Pupils with special educational needs are very well included in all aspects of their work. The class teacher focuses questions carefully and this enables them to share their ideas with the whole class and take a full part in the investigative work. An analysis of work shows that pupils have a good understanding of all areas of their science work and are developing and using a wider range of scientific language.

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SCIENCE

67 Junior pupils make very good progress as a result of very good teaching. In Years 3 and 4 pupils study light and shadow. They know that ‘ when the light is blocked, it Coniston C of E Primary School - 37 creates a shadow.’ They use the word ‘source’ correctly in a lesson and explained that ‘ the sun in a light source outside and a light bulb supplies light inside.’ There was good pace to this lesson and pupils understood clearly how much time they had to complete a section of their work. They collaborated well to achieve lists of different light sources and sorted them accurately into their own choice of two sets. All pupils achieved the lesson objective and all knew that light travels to an object and then to a person’s eye. They drew and labelled their own diagram correctly. Teachers plan a very good range of different activities so that the learning of older pupils is extended well. Challenging teaching, very good planning and interesting activities help pupils to

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SCIENCE

make very good progress and enjoy their science activities.

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SCIENCE

68 Years 5 and 6 study the solar system. Year 5 know that the earth ‘is called the blue planet’ and that the reason for this is ‘that most of it is covered with water.’ In a Year 5 lesson, the teacher used very good extended questioning to help pupils to identify that ‘we know this because astronauts have been into space and have taken photographs.’ Pupils showed a good understanding of points of the compass and the position of the sun at different parts of the day. Pupils were very confident to offer suggestions and used scientific language with increasing confidence. They considered carefully the views of Copernicus and Galileo and suggested that the reason for Galileo’s theory was that ‘he had a telescope to help him.’ The class teacher used a very good video clip to reinforce pupils’ understanding of day and night and the seasons of the year. The teacher made good links to previous learning about

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SCIENCE

shadows but pupils thought that the seasons are the same, at the same time, in all parts of the world. The teacher used the pupils’ interests in cricket well to identify that England cricketers travel to other countries during the winter in order to play cricket. The teacher built on pupils’ previous learning well, linking the temperature sensor to the computer and to the fibre optic light sensor to demonstrate the movement of the earth round the sun. Pupils recorded their findings accurately and graphed them, using the computer to show clearly the amount of light on the earth during a 24 hour period. Pupils showed a good understanding of the computer program to record these findings. The very challenging teaching and the very good pace to the lesson held all pupils’ interest for an extended period of time. Pupils demonstrate very good scientific knowledge in discussion and the work recorded in their books shows good

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SCIENCE

coverage of all aspects required in this subject.

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ART AND DESIGN

69 Pupils attain standards that are well above those expected by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. They have improved considerably since the last inspection. Pupils’ high- quality art work makes an outstanding contribution to support their work in other subjects and to create stimulating displays in classrooms and around the school. The school has recently applied for an Artsmark accreditation and the details of their application reflect clearly the good range and high quality of art experiences for pupils. There are many factors promoting these high standards. These include an enthusiastic and knowledgeable subject co-ordinator; very good use of local artists and artists-in-residence to offer pupils specialist guidance and teaching in many different aspects, for example, sculpture, batik and book illustrating and very good enthusiastic teaching that motivates pupils to want to succeed. The school also has

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ART AND DESIGN

very good links with the local secondary school. These help teachers to benefit from specialist advice and training, for example, on felting and screen printing, and borrowing resources. Pupils extend their skills and knowledge at the popular lunch- time art club. The subject is given high profile both in school and in the local Coniston C of E Primary School - 38 community, for example, pupils’ art work is displayed locally in the church, hotels and, in the case of the pupils’ illustrated poems on ‘Spring’, all around the village!

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ART AND DESIGN

70 Pupils have above average skills in a wide range of activities. They use examples of work from many famous artists, for example, Monet, Turner and Franz Marc, to provide ideas and to try different styles. Infant pupils have a good knowledge of the effect of colour as they use different shades of yellow, red and orange to create a very vivid sunset in the style of Turner. They work in the style of Franz Marc to complete detailed drawings of cats. Infant pupils used these drawings as a design for very colourful collages and then to make high quality clay models. They used their design and technology skills to make a strong container for their model. Visits to the local village and church enable infants to extend their skills, for example, through detailed scraper-board drawings and brass-rubbings. Their work in science is supported by very good quality chalk drawings of owls in which infant pupils have used their

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ART AND DESIGN

observation skills very successfully to ensure that they pick out the bird’s key features. Most Year 1 and 2 pupils achieved high quality printing work when they carefully drew their pattern on a polystyrene tile, cut it out and then used it very well to create a bright sun-pattern.

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ART AND DESIGN

71 Junior pupils extend these skills, knowledge and understanding very effectively. Year 3 and 4 pupils use their drawing and painting skills to create detailed 3-dimensional characters, for example, trolls and centaurs, linked to the literacy work. They work together well to paint different sections of a mountain valley. They show a very good awareness of composition and perspective as they put their sections together to create the valley effect. Year 5 and 6 pupils co-operate well to copy a painting by Monet. They use pastel and oil and powder paints to complete small sections of the painting. They then put them together to create the overall effect. Many show good evaluation skills, for example, explaining that ‘the pastel worked well because it did not run but it was hard to colour mix without smudging’. Year 5 pupils show good knowledge and understanding of the importance of colour, composition and form in

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ART AND DESIGN

creating a particular effect. For example, linked to their work in religious education, they plan their drawings of Jesus carefully, some with teacher’s guidance. They choose particular colours to create a visual effect and the position of their main character to ensure that it is the main focus. Pupils from all years contributed to some high quality project work. For example, to celebrate ‘The Year of the Mountain’, pupils created large, very colourful, textile wall-hangings on Winter and Summer mountain scenes. Funds from the European Comenius project and from ‘First Aid for Cumbria’ supported the work on a large piece of batik tapestry on ‘Le Chat Botte’, linked to the performance of the French play. These are displayed, with eye-catching effect, in the school hall.

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ART AND DESIGN

72 Teaching in the two lessons observed was of a very high standard. Teachers have very good subject knowledge and use it very effectively to promote pupils’ skills and knowledge. For example, in an excellent Year 5 lesson, the teacher challenged pupils to create a drawing to illustrate a Bible quote from their religious education lesson. She used a series of paintings to illustrate clearly how the artists had illustrated particular characteristics of Jesus. She used questions excellently to extend their thinking, for example, ‘Why has the artist chosen that colour?’ and ‘How has the artist used Jesus’ eyes to create a mood?’ This enabled pupils to gain a very good understanding of how they could use these skills on their own paintings. Teachers manage their classes very well and convey their own enthusiasm for art very vividly. For example, in a high quality printing lesson for infants, the teacher encouraged

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ART AND DESIGN

pupils to concentrate and achieve good standards. Pupils were delighted to receive her recognition and responded excitedly to her encouraging comments such ‘Wow! Coniston C of E Primary School - 39 That is brilliant!’ They were keen to succeed and they concentrated fully on ensuring that they were accurate in completing their pattern. Some teachers use sketchbooks to encourage pupils to develop their initial design ideas, although this is not used consistently in all classes.

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ART AND DESIGN

73 The subject is very well managed. The co-ordinator provides a very strong lead to promoting standards across the school. She has been very influential in arranging a very varied and interesting programme of activities. She has encouraged the use of the talents of local artists, for example, during the week of the inspection art club pupils enjoyed watching the skills of a mask-maker. The school has applied for extra funds, from both European and national government sources, and has used them very successfully to extend the range of artistic experiences for pupils.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

74 Pupils attain standards that are in line with national expectations by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. This judgement is made on a scrutiny of work and teachers’ plans and discussion with pupils and teachers. Standards are below those seen at the end of Year 2 and match those seen at the end of Year 6 at the last inspection.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

75 Discussion with pupils in Year 2 shows that they understand the need to design their cat boxes before they make them and that the finished box has to have a lid. Their planning sheets show clear identification of the materials and tools they will use and the order in which they will do the different tasks needed to complete their cat box. They have some understanding of using levers to create moving pictures. Teachers make good use of the local environment to encourage pupils to look at playground equipment and then to design and make their own models. Using simple materials such as card, glue, they made small and accurate models of slides, swings, climbing frames and seesaws. They particularly remember making roundabouts that ‘turned round because we used cotton reels’.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

76 In Years 3 and 4, pupils used a unit of work from a nationally agreed scheme to create their own frames. This work is well linked to their work on light and shadow in science. Instead of making picture frames, they developed similar skills to make a light frame to use later with shadow puppets. They begin to develop an understanding of the safe use of small hacksaws and bench hooks. The use of the glue gun by the teacher limits their opportunities to understand how card and wood is fixed. A child- friendly glue would achieve the same results and pupils would develop their fixing skills further. The opportunities for pupils to initiate and develop their own ideas and to make mistakes in their design and technology work are not developed fully. This is part of the learning process and encourages them to develop their thinking and problem solving skills.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

77 Pupils in Years 5 and 6 have looked at shelters and have very good opportunities to create their own outdoor shelter at the local outdoor centre. Using just a sheet of plastic, a length of rope and materials collected from the environment, they worked in groups to create a shelter that is waterproof and will hold all the group. They achieved this with varying degrees of success, thoroughly enjoying the experience of testing their structure with water while they were all crushed inside! Pupils analysed the need for shelters and when these would be needed before they created their prototypes. They linked this well to their work on different shapes in numeracy. This work is extended well when they make models of shelters, using wood, hardboard, lolly-sticks and a range of fabrics. They extend their skills when using hacksaws and bench hooks but the speed and accuracy of their work is limited by using hot glue

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Coniston C of E Primary School - 40 guns. A more appropriate glue that all pupils can use safely would enhance the finished product and enable pupils to plan their work more systematically. Most pupils show a sound understanding of the design and make process but there is less evidence of written evaluations identifying the changes they would make to their finished work.

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GEOGRAPHY

78 No geography lessons were observed during the inspection and no judgement is made on teaching and learning. From looking at samples of work and by talking to teachers pupils, standards are judged to be above average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. This is better than reported in the previous inspection. Excellent displays around the school reflect the high profile given to the subject. The local area provides an important element from which pupils’ understanding of geography begins and they all go on a good range of field visits.

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GEOGRAPHY

79 Infant pupils have a good knowledge of their locality and draw detailed maps of the area surrounding their school. They give clear directions and use a key to depict important local landmarks. Their knowledge of maps of various types is good. For instance, they locate key features around Coniston on aerial photographs and write in detail about them using basic geographical terminology. They use information and communication technology well to compile a bar chart showing how proportions of the pupils use different forms of transport to get to school. They draw simple but accurate conclusions from the data. Pupils apply what they learned about the water cycle when on a field visit and their written work shows good understanding of the process.

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GEOGRAPHY

80 Pupils in the junior classes have a good perspective of the world in which they live. They identify major rivers and mountains on a world map and explain the differences between Scafell Pike and Mount Ebrus. Teaching materials such as books, posters and a variety of maps are very effective in helping pupils to learn about world weather. The pupils themselves use the Internet and CD Roms to find out new facts about different mountain regions. They are confident in developing these ideas when asked. Pupils apply their numeracy skills well when drawing graphs and weather charts. In Years 3 and 4 pupils learn by local visits how waterfalls are formed other features of rivers and lakes. They then translate what they have learned in their written work by describing features of rivers accurately, such as “meanders”. Pupils understand how to use Ordnance Survey maps and know what contour lines show. Writing tends to

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GEOGRAPHY

be brief, clear and succinct but with little evidence of extended pieces of work.

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GEOGRAPHY

81 Leadership and management of geography are good overall and contribute to the above average standards achieved. There is imaginative and thorough planning for the subject with excellent use of the local environment and good use of visits to contrast urban areas, for example, Liverpool, and similar rural areas to their own local area. Monitoring of teaching and learning and systems to evaluate pupils’ progress have not yet been established. Coniston C of E Primary School - 41

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HISTORY

82 An insufficient number of lessons was observed in history to make judgements about teaching and learning. From discussions with teachers and pupils, it is clear that standards at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are above average. Infant pupils have a good knowledge of the events that made Grace Darling famous and use their literacy skills well in writing newspaper articles about her. They apply their learning from pictures and other resources and show empathy with her and her family. They understand how time passes by sharing anecdotes about their own family.

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HISTORY

83 The school is well served by the local community. Adults visit and bring in a range of artefacts to show to the pupils. They responded very well, for example, to having the chance to handle and describe many different types of lamp and lighting device dating back several hundred years. More-able pupils assembled certain items in chronological order, helped by very good prompts and questions from the teacher. There was a very good link to the learning that took place in literacy and in science as the teacher reminded the class about key words such as “transparent” and “opaque” to describe the objects. Lower attaining pupils took a full part in the lesson too. They were interested because the items were similar to what they could see in the older houses in the village. The teacher’s questions were well matched to their understanding: “What happens if I take a candle into the wind? Why is a lantern

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HISTORY

84 Junior pupils are encouraged to use their growing knowledge of history in planning play-scripts based on old families in the village. They do thorough research into census data and follow this up by visiting houses and locations to create realistic settings for their work. This is a very imaginative and successful way of teaching both history and English and pupils respond very enthusiastically. They are keen to ensure that their “shots” are chronologically accurate and discuss the items in the village that would not have been there in Victorian times.

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HISTORY

85 The planning and teaching of history are lively in all classes. Leadership and management of the subject are good. There are still areas to develop in the monitoring of teaching and learning and in assessing pupils’ progress but standards are better than those reported in the previous inspection.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

86 Pupils attain standards by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 that are above those expected nationally. Standards have improved on the average levels reported at the last inspection. Pupils use an excellent computer suite that had been established just before the last inspection. This has helped the school to establish a ratio of computers to pupils that is well above that expected nationally. An enthusiastic specialist teacher, who teaches each class on one day each week, extends pupils’ skills very successfully.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

87 The computer suite is shared with The Credits Centre and is also used for training adults in the local community. It provides very good opportunities for extending pupils’ skills and knowledge. However, the quality of teaching is not maintained at a high level as class teachers do not use these very good facilities often enough at times other than when the specialist teacher is in school. Teachers use them to support work in some other subjects, for example, literacy and French, although they do not challenge pupils frequently to apply and extend their skills. The suite was often empty Coniston C of E Primary School - 42 during the inspection, although some activities, for example, use of the Internet, were restricted by technical problems.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

88 Pupils in Years 1 and 2 show good mouse skills when they ‘pick’ and ‘drag’ words to put them in the correct order in the Jack and Jill rhyme. The more-able pupils achieve this successfully but the lower ability pupils find it difficult and do not achieve spaces between their words. Many use the computer well to write a group of sentences about their visit to Brockhole and put them in the correct order. Pupils develop their art skills when they use the ‘fill’ and ‘flood’ tools in an art program to create an outdoor scene and successfully add a person or creature to their picture. Computer programs are used well when pupils create graphs of their favourite colours, linked to their work in numeracy. An analysis of their work also shows that pupils have good opportunities to write stories. In these they show an understanding of how to achieve capital letters and use punctuation keys accurately. Year 2 pupils use e-mail

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

successfully to contact an artist and find out more about his work

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

89 In the lesson seen, these pupils had very good opportunities to use a programmable robot, using a series of instructions to make sure that it moved the correct number of moves forward and turned in the right direction. The Year 2 pupils clearly understand how to give a series of instructions accurately to move the robot to an identified place on the number mat. They understand left and right clearly and know how to repeat the sequence if necessary. They were keenly interested, worked very well in groups of three and made very good progress in the time available. This was due to the very good teaching, high expectations and challenge presented by the visiting teacher. Very good planning enables different work to be provided for each year group. In the lesson, both year groups achieved their work with the robot and created a night picture, linked to their work in science. Most pupils know how to use the ‘fill’, ‘flood’

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

and ‘spray’ tools in the art program and select and change colour confidently. They know how to save their work in their own computer folder, close their own document and leave a new blank page for the next person to use. Very good learning was taking place, time was used very well and both the class teacher and the specialist teacher supported pupils’ learning well.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

90 Year 3 and 4 pupils begin to understand branching data-bases by sorting objects. Very skilled questions are used to encourage pupils to think carefully about the properties of a range of objects, for example, ‘ Are you weak? Are you metal? Are you sharp?’ Individual pupils selected an object and others had to ask appropriate questions to distinguish which object had been selected. They achieved this with real enjoyment. All pupils were included and were successful due to the constant encouragement and high expectations of the teacher. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 discuss with confidence a wide range of experiences using the computer. These include using temperature probes and light sensors linked to their work in science. They understand how to read data from graphs created on the computer and have used programs very well to extend their knowledge of compass and protractor work in numeracy. They use the Internet with confidence to find information about the planets

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

and the solar system. Pupils save selected images in their own files for further use and know how to label these pictures, showing the source, in case they wish to return to that particular web site. They show clear understanding of the size of files and know that “9k takes less time to download than 109k”. They understand and use short cuts well to move between the Internet and their word documents. Pupils know how to save particular work in their ‘favourites’ file and also know how their research of a chosen planet will be used to create a multimedia presentation. Most pupils demonstrate very good computer skills and explain how they achieve their results with confidence. They really enjoy opportunities to work in the computer suite and the very Coniston C of E Primary School - 43 good teaching they receive builds pupils’ confidence well and promotes higher standards.

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MUSIC

91 It is not possible to make a judgement on music at the end of Year 2 as no lessons were seen. Pupils attain standards at the end of Year 6 that are below national expectations. These are below the standards seen at the last inspection. This judgement is made on the one lesson seen, discussion with pupils and with the music teacher. A visiting musician from the local secondary school teaches music to all classes one day each week. She has only taught music in the primary school since September 2002. Since this time, a new policy and scheme of work have been established and good assessment records are kept. In the lesson seen, the teaching was good and pupils made good progress but there has been insufficient time to make sure that all pupils cover all required aspects of the subject. There is no use of information and communication technology yet as part of the composing element of this subject and limited opportunities to create music by using un-tuned instruments.

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MUSIC

There are only a small number of tuned instruments and no keyboards. This limits the range of learning opportunities.

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MUSIC

92 Discussion with Year 6 pupils show that they have some understanding of notation and clap back a given rhythm with a good degree of accuracy. They listen to ‘The Planets Suite’ by Gustav Holst that links well to their work in science. Their present work focuses on lyric writing and the structure of this, for example, whether the writer repeats special lines and if these are used to create a chorus to the song. In the lesson seen, pupils confidently sang their names back in the same pitch as that used by the teacher. Most achieved this successfully, although some boys found it difficult. They extended their understanding of different cultures when they sang ‘Siyahumba’ and knew that it was a song about walking to freedom. They considered the feelings and emotions of the Zulu people well and thought that ‘ they would be feeling happy to reach freedom from slavery.’ Their singing was satisfactory though there was some

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MUSIC

lack of pitch. The teacher made good use of well-known football songs to encourage pupils to write their own lyrics. They worked well in groups and achieved this successfully. They performed as groups well, using a football chorus to link their different verses together.

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MUSIC

93 Limited opportunities are available for them to develop their confidence when singing as music does not have a high profile in school. The singing in assembly lacks enthusiasm and effort. There is no pianist in school and a visitor plays for assemblies and for the small number of pupils who attend the singing club. Their knowledge of a range of music and composers is not being developed effectively, for example, when music is used in assemblies. Pupils are not introduced to the title of the music or the composer. There is no focus on ‘The composer of the week’ and this is not encouraging pupils to extend their musical repertoire.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

94 Pupils attain standards that meet those expected nationally by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Standards have been maintained at a similar level to that reported previously. During the inspection, the focus was on the development of pupils’ skills in games, gymnastics and dance. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, are included fully in all activities and make sound progress overall in developing their learning. The school makes good use of local facilities to promote pupils’ skills, for example, by using Troutbeck indoor pool and the outdoor pool at the nearby John Coniston C of E Primary School - 44 Ruskin Secondary School to provide frequent swimming opportunities. This enables most pupils to achieve the standard expected by the end of Year 6 and many achieve above expected levels. The school makes good use of the local environment to provide a broad range of activities. This is a significant improvement since the last

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

inspection. Year 5 and 6 pupils take part in a residential trip to Hawes End to participate in a good range of outdoor and adventurous activities. At the time of the inspection, Year 6 pupils were preparing for a mountain walk. They were working closely with staff from John Ruskin School, for example, to receive information about high energy foods. Pupils clearly enjoy physical activities. They benefit from a very good range of extra-curricular activities, including competitive tournaments and matches with other local schools, for example, in football and ‘kwik cricket’.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

95 Most infant pupils work enthusiastically to develop a short dance sequence. They have a good understanding of the effects and benefits of exercise, for example, that ‘it makes you breathe fast, you get hot, and it keeps you healthy!’ Infants listen attentively and follow the teacher’s instructions and suggestions to explore different ways of building and remembering their movement sequence. Most use a sound range of movements, for example, crawling, running and jumping, with some showing good variety by changing the level and speed of their movements. They show an enthusiastic attitude as they pretend to jump into the sea from their ‘island’ and swim. They watch attentively as other pupils demonstrate their sequences, although do not try to evaluate their dances by identifying what they liked and what could be improved. Older juniors show a sound range of gymnastic skills, for example, balancing and

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

travelling movements, when working in pairs to develop a sequence, taking and transferring their weight on their hands. They co-operate well, sharing ideas and working hard to complete their sequence in the lesson. Most pupils demonstrate sound, and often good, individual movements, although few link together these movements fluently into a co-ordinated and controlled sequence. Many Year 5 and 6 pupils evaluated their own sequences, and those of others, to point out what they liked. They did not identify the key features of these sequences or how the quality could be improved. This did not encourage them to try to achieve higher standards.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

96 The school has a good-size playing field and hard-court areas that it uses effectively to develop pupils’ games skills. Year 5 and 6 pupils extend their ball skills soundly, for example, using ‘uni-hoc’ sticks to develop their hockey skills. Most show sound passing skills when using a push pass to send the ball to their partner. Many dribble the ball soundly, although some do not position it correctly and have difficulty retaining control as they move forward. They enjoy competing in teams against others in the class. Some pupils are so keen to win that they do not always apply their passing and dribbling skills accurately or consistently. Teaching is sound overall and often good. Teachers manage their classes to ensure that all pupils participate. They maintain a good, brisk pace to lessons to retain pupils’ interest and to apply their skills, for example, when the teacher challenged Year 5 and 6 pupils to extend their

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

hockey skills in partner, group and team activities. Teachers encourage pupils to look carefully at the performance of others, although they do not require them to identify ways in which they could improve the standard. The school has a good range of resources and facilities. The headteacher, in his role as subject co-ordinator, has organised training for staff, for example, in dance. This has significantly improved teachers’ subject knowledge and confidence and has improved pupils’ skills and understanding. He has planned to provide staff training for gymnastics, and to extend further the links with the local secondary school and other community organisations, for example, through the county’s cricket liaison officer.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Coniston C of E Primary School - 45 97 Standards in religious education are in line with the expectations set out in the locally agreed syllabus. This reflects the findings of the last inspection. Many of the themes in religious education are supplemented successfully by work undertaken in circle time.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

98 Infant pupils listen carefully to each other as they explore ideas about characteristics that make people special. The session contributes to pupils’ self-esteem and gives them a greater understanding of the needs of others. These lessons fully involve pupils with special educational needs and do much to help them develop their interpersonal skills. A lot of the work done by younger pupils is very visual. Most find it difficult to explain their ideas in sentences, although they answer simple questions when given supportive writing frames. They identify a symbol such as water in a christening but do not always say what it represents. They produce good work in Year 2 planning celebrations of their own. Some of their accounts of visits to the local church show that they were moved by the experience. “I could hear the silence. I felt content.” Teachers ask pupils questions in the marking of work and these help them

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

to fill in details in such stories as the tale of Saint Francis.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

99 Older pupils are helped to understand difficult ideas about the Hindu religion by visiting a temple. The teacher uses good visual stimulus with digital photographs and an overhead projector to try to encourage pupils to describe the most important aspects of their visit. They needed a lot of help to interpret the significance of what they had seen but higher attaining pupils could remember and recount stories about the Hindu faith such as the one involving Rama and Sita. Pupils generally work hard and some understand the importance of ritual but those in average and lower attaining groups struggle with the written work. They lack the structure to help them write at length.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

100 The oldest pupils show an interest in world affairs and write very sensitively about how a community should react when faced by a tragedy such as the one occurring on September 11 th 2001. They have a fair knowledge of key events in the Bible but have few opportunities to express their ideas at length in writing.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

101 Teaching is satisfactory. There are some good features such as the effective use of resources including photographs and artefacts that give pupils a better understanding of unfamiliar ideas. They give pupils information that they can see more easily. Teachers are good at involving pupils of all abilities in discussions but written work for lower attaining pupils sometimes contains too many abstract ideas and they struggle to understand them. There are insufficient chances for older pupils to write in more detail about aspects of religious education and many are content with a brief comment followed by a picture.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

102 Assessment procedures in the subject are developing well, including ideas to help pupils to understand how they well they are achieving. The subject, together with circle time and assemblies, makes a very valuable contribution to pupils’ spiritual and moral development.

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