Abbey Primary Community School

ABBEY COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 16 th – 19 th September 2002

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ABBEY COMMUNITY 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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ABBEY COMMUNITY 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. Abbey Community Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs Sheila Ladd

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: June 1997 Abbey Community Primary School - 4

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

23158 Margot D’Arcy Registered Inspector The Foundation Stage What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well the school is led and managed What should the school do to improve? 11096 Margaret Davie Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well the school cares for pupils The school’s partnership with parents 21090 David Manuel Team inspector Information and communication technology Religious education 25359 Peter Crispin Team inspector Science Design and technology Physical education

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

16971 Roger Hardaker Team inspector Mathematics Art and design The quality of learning experiences

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

27777 Robin Greenall Team inspector English History Music 21666 Andrew Margerison Team inspector Special educational needs Geography How well pupils are taught?

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

4343 Shirley Billington Team inspector Educational inclusion Provision for pupils with English as an additional language

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Wessex Education 2 Riverside Athelhampton Dorchester Dorset DT2 7LG Abbey Community Primary School - 5 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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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Abbey Community Primary School - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is much bigger than average catering for 562 boys and girls aged between three and 11. Almost all are of Asian Indian heritage and speak English as an additional language. A third are at an early stage of English language acquisition. The main community language is Gujarati, with smaller proportions of pupils speaking Punjabi, Urdu and Kutchi. There are eight refugee pupils whose home countries are Sri-Lanka, Albania and Iran. Pupils are taught in classes containing others of the same age and from Year 1 they are set 1 for English and mathematics. In Years 3, 5 and 6, there are far fewer girls than boys. Thirty-nine children attend the nursery on a part-time basis; all other pupils attend full- time. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs (24 per cent) is above the national average, but only two pupils have statements of special need. The range of needs includes moderate learning

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

difficulties; emotional and behavioural and speech and communication difficulties; hearing, visual and multi-sensory impairments; and physical disabilities. Nineteen per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is broadly average. The school is situated in the centre of Leicester; an area that, overall, suffers from some social and economic disadvantage. A significant minority of pupils miss school for extended periods when visiting their home countries. Children’s attainment when they start in the nursery is low in relation to what is expected for their age.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

For much of the period since the last inspection, pupils have not achieved as much as they should. A lack of leadership resulting from numerous changes of headteacher has not ensured consistency of teaching quality or the provision of learning experiences that built on what pupils already knew. This resulted in low standards. Recently, however, the new headteacher has initiated many improvements, which look set to continue. Teaching and learning are now satisfactory and the curriculum is being planned better. The school is providing satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• The headteacher leads and manages the school very well, with a clear focus on raising standards. • The progress of pupils with special educational needs is good because they are taught well by support staff and some teachers. • Pupils learning to speak English make good progress in this aspect due to the effective help they receive from specialist bilingual teachers and support staff. • The school provides well for pupils’ personal development resulting in them enjoying school, working hard and behaving well. • Parents value the school. They appreciate the efforts made to utilize community facilities to help them gain knowledge and confidence to support their children’s learning at home.

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What could be improved

• Standards in English, science and information and communication technology (ICT) throughout the school and in mathematics for pupils in Years 1 and 2. • The curriculum and some aspects of teaching for children in the Foundation Stage 2 do not promote learning effectively enough so children underachieve. • Subject and other co-ordinators do not know enough about pupils’ standards or the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects or areas of responsibility. • Some aspects of information to parents. 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

1 Organised into teaching groups on the basis of prior attainment. At the time of the inspection, pupils were being set from Year 2. 2 Nursery and reception. Abbey Community Primary School - 8 Improvement since the last inspection in June 1997 has been unsatisfactory. The school has had several major changes of headteacher, which has resulted in little progress being made in addressing the key issues made in the last report. Standards in religious education (RE) have improved, but in other subjects standards have remained low. Resources have improved considerably; relationships with parents are better and attendance has improved. Since the appointment of the current headteacher, numerous improvements have occurred, in a fairly short time, many of which are directly linked to raising standards.

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STANDARDS

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

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Key

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

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Key

Although the table shows that results in 2001 were below average when compared to all schools, they were above average in English and mathematics when compared to similar schools 3 . While results often fluctuate from year to year, over time, the trend is broadly in line with that seen nationally. The 2001 results fell from those achieved in 2000, but a number of factors, including a high proportion of lower attaining pupils entering the school during Years 5 and 6 and some higher attainers leaving, account for this. The 2001 Year 6 group had also experienced disruption in teaching during their time at the school. The most recent (2002) results show a further decline. However, this group too included many pupils who had only recently joined the school, some of whom were refugees, speaking very little English and having no experience of the English education system. These factors are significant and explain how the

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Key

targets that were set for pupils were not achieved. However, inspection evidence shows that, except for mathematics, standards in the above subjects and in ICT are not as high as they should be by the end of Year 6. A similar situation exists at the end of Year 2, where test results also fell significantly in 2002, but here standards in mathematics are also below average.

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Key

By the end of Years 2 and 6, pupils achieve broadly average standards in art and design; design and technology; geography; history; music, religious education (RE) and most aspects of physical education (PE). However, standards in swimming are below average by the end of Year 6, and Year 2 pupils’ understanding of maps is weak. Although there is some good learning occurring in the reception classes, the standards achieved by the end of the reception year are lower than they should be in all areas of learning 4 except personal, social and emotional development. Throughout the school, pupils in the early stages of learning English achieve well in this aspect.

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Aspect Comment

3 Based on the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals.

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Aspect Comment

4 The six designated areas of learning are: personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical development; and creative development. Abbey Community Primary School - 9 Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils enjoy school, want to achieve well and try hard.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Satisfactory overall. Behaviour in lessons is good. In some other situations, such as at playtime, it deteriorates. Abbey Community Primary School - 10 Personal development and relationships Relationships are good. Most pupils get on well with each other and like and respect the adults who work with them. While pupils are keen to take on responsibility and show initiative, they are not given enough opportunities to develop these skills. Attendance Satisfactory. In line with the national average.

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

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

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

The quality of teaching is meeting the needs of most pupils satisfactorily. However, while there is no significant overall difference between teaching and learning across the school, variation exists between different classes. There is some very effective teaching in the Foundation Stage, but not all staff have realistic expectations of children, which limits how well they learn. Some good teaching was seen in Years 1 to 6, particularly in English and mathematics lessons where the basic skills of literacy and numeracy are promoted well. Learning in these lessons is enhanced through the setting arrangements and by recent improvements to teachers’ planning. In other subjects, literacy and numeracy skills are not developed as effectively as they could be. Similarly, teachers do not develop pupils’ speaking skills as well as they should; questioning in particular does not promote these skills effectively and this

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

impedes pupils’ overall progress in a number of subjects.

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

Teachers have good relationships with pupils and manage them well. This results in pupils making good efforts with their work. However, pupils are not fully aware of how well they are learning because they are not informed enough about their strengths and weaknesses, for instance through marking or by being given individual improvement targets. While there is some very good teaching of ICT, for the most part, teaching and learning in this subject is weak. However, staff training is being arranged to improve teachers’ own skills and to help them make better use of the improved resources. Staff who support pupils with English as an additional language and special educational needs make a good contribution to teaching and learning.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory overall, but the Foundation Stage curriculum does not take enough account of children’s age and stage of development. Good provision for personal, social and health education (PSHE) and extra- curricular activities. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good, with considerable improvements having occurred recently. The Individual education plans (IEP’s) that are constructed for pupils vary in quality, but are satisfactory overall. However, there is inconsistency in the way teachers use these in planning pupils’ work. Support staff provide effective help for pupils, which promotes good learning. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good overall. Experienced and competent staff are deployed effectively to meet pupils’ needs. These specialist staff and bilingual teachers provide good support that enables pupils to understand and take part in lessons.

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Aspect Comment

However, the content of literacy lessons has not been adapted to meet the needs of pupils in the early stages of learning English. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural Satisfactory overall, with good provision for moral development. Pupils are taught to think about others and to respect people and property. Adults provide good roles models. Opportunities are missed to promote spiritual Abbey Community Primary School - 11 development development in lessons and assemblies and pupils are not given many opportunities to develop independent learning skills. Cultural development is promoted well in art, music and RE.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Unsatisfactory. A number of significant health and safety issues need addressing. While there is a good range of procedures to assess pupils’ basic skills, assessment in other subjects is limited. Training for lunchtime staff is needed on managing pupils’ behaviour.

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Aspect Comment

The school has good relationships with parents and works well with them.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher is providing very effective leadership and a clear direction. Currently, subject co-ordinators’ roles are underdeveloped but this is being addressed, as is the role of the senior management team in supporting school improvement. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory overall. Governors are good friends to the school and want to help it improve. However, not all have a clear understanding of the balance of strengths and weaknesses or of what their role entails. Some of the legally required information is missing from the governors’ report to parents. The school’s evaluation of its performance This has been unsatisfactory until recently. However, the new headteacher has a very good grasp of the school’s strengths and of areas where improvement is needed. She has quickly implemented procedures to check on the quality of teaching and learning and to

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Aspect Comment

analyse data about pupils’ performance to determine where and how to raise standards. The strategic use of resources Good. Support staff are used very well and grants are used for their intended purpose. Good use is being made of the new computer suites to support learning in ICT, but classroom computers are underused.

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Aspect Comment

There is a good number of teaching and support staff. The amount and quality of learning resources are good. The accommodation is spacious and maintained to a high level of cleanliness, but poses some health and safety issues. The school works hard to ensure that the spending and other decisions it makes provide the best value possible.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school. • Behaviour is good. • Teachers are approachable. • Children with special educational needs are supported well. • The school expects children to work hard and become mature and responsible. • Parents feel that they are getting more information since the appointment of the new headteacher. • Many would like more homework and better consistency in setting homework between classes. • Annual written reports on their children’s progress are not individual enough. Many want more information in community languages. • Lunchtime supervision.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors agree with parents’ positive views and feel that their concerns are justified. Abbey Community Primary School - 12

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. On starting school, children’s skills are generally well below what is expected for their age. While some children make reasonably good progress, overall, they do not achieve as well as they should. Standards remain mostly below those expected by the end of the reception year except in the personal, social and emotional area of learning where they are generally in line with what is expected. Weaknesses in the way the curriculum is planned and in some aspects of teaching prevent progress in most areas of learning being as good as it could be. However, those children who are in the early stages of learning to speak English achieve well in this aspect due to the very good help they receive from bilingual support staff. Many of these children quickly learn to express their needs in English using a few words and short phrases. By the end of the reception year, the majority conveys simple ideas and observations in discussions.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. The results of national tests taken by Year 2 pupils in 2001 were below the national average in reading and mathematics and close to the national average in writing. In relation to similar schools, reading results were broadly average, writing results were well above, but mathematics results were below. Teacher assessments of pupils’ standards in science in 2001 were broadly average, but they assessed skills in speaking and listening as below. Although there is some variation in the performance of boys and girls in different years, over time this is not particularly significant. However, when compared to national figures, girls at the school do not achieve as well as boys. The most recent (2002) results, which are not yet published, show a significant decline in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The results of national tests taken by Year 6 pupils in 2001 were below the national average in English, mathematics and science. Compared to similar schools, these results were above average in English and mathematics, but below in science. However, results from the most recent (2002) tests were not as favourable, falling significantly in all three subjects. Some of this can be accounted for in terms of the inclusion, in these results, of a significant proportion of pupils who had only recently been admitted to the school (including refugees and other pupils who were new to English). Overall, however, inspection evidence shows that, throughout the school, pupils have not achieved as well as they could in English, mathematics, science and ICT. Inconsistencies in teaching quality, learning experiences and limited resources have been key factors. For example, pupils have not had sufficient opportunities to engage in mathematical

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

problem solving, scientific investigations or ICT work; until recently, poor ICT resources also played a part in the low standards being achieved in this subject. Teachers do not develop pupils’ speaking skills effectively in many lessons, which limits the progress they make in a number of subjects. The significant disruption that the school has experienced at leadership level resulted in these weaknesses not being addressed. Specifically, there has not been any consistency of direction to raise standards or ensure evenness in the quality of teaching and learning between classes and year groups. Subject and other co-ordinators have not been empowered or trained to play their part in raising standards and checking on pupils’ achievement.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Inspection evidence shows that, overall, by the end of Years 2 and 6, standards in English, science and ICT are below average. Standards in mathematics are broadly average for Year 6 pupils, but below for Year 2. Even given the challenges presented by the high number of pupils speaking English as an additional language, speaking skills are not as good as they should be. Pupils, who are new to English when they join the school, make good progress in acquiring a basic level of competence in understanding the language. They listen carefully and usually make suitable responses in discussion, although these are often limited to one-word answers. While these pupils continue to make steady progress in their understanding of English, speaking skills remain at a fairly basic level. Very few are confident in explaining ideas at length or learn to adapt their speech to suit different situations. Throughout the school, many pupils learn to read

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

accurately, but their understanding of what they read is limited. Abbey Community Primary School - 13 5. In mathematics, pupils in Years 3 to 6 generally make better progress than those in Years 1 and 2 because they are given more opportunities to use and apply mathematics in problem solving activities. By Year 6, pupils’ number skills and their knowledge of other aspects of mathematics are generally in line with what is expected for their age. Weaknesses in science are related to the limited opportunities pupils have to develop experimental and investigative skills and an inappropriate balance between the learning experiences provided in different aspects of science. Over time, Year 6 pupils’ test results show that boys generally outperform girls in most subjects. While inspection evidence did not find any significant differences in the achievement of boys or girls, there are lessons where boys are allowed to dominate in discussions and to control

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

activities in mixed-gender group work. The headteacher is aware of gender differences in test performance and this is being monitored.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are broadly average in art and design, history, music and RE. Pupils achieve at least satisfactorily in these subjects and in most aspects of PE. Standards in this subject are broadly average by the end of Years 2 and 6 but in swimming, despite tuition in Years 3 and 4, pupils still lack confidence by the end of the course. Consequently, a significant number are not expected to reach the required standard by the end of Year 6. Standards in most aspects of geography are average by the end of Year 2, but mapping skills are weak. However, good progress occurs in the juniors and results in average standards in all aspects by the end of Year 6. There was insufficient evidence to make a secure judgement on Year 2 pupils’ standards and progress in design and technology, but overall, progress in the juniors is satisfactory and pupils achieve the expected standards by the end of

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Pupils with special educational needs attain standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are lower than those expected for their age. However, they make good progress in these subjects because of the effective help they are given by support staff and some teachers. Progress in mathematics is better than in English and progress in reading is better than writing. This reflects the generally better teaching of mathematics and the extra tuition pupils receive to improve reading skills.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Overall, improvement since the last inspection has not been satisfactory. Until the appointment of the current headteacher there had been little success in addressing the key issues made about raising standards in English, mathematics, science and ICT . However, while standards in these subjects remain below average, the school has the capacity to improve. The stability provided by the new headteacher, the effectiveness of the measures she has implemented so far, and her identification of the right priorities for development are providing the school with the clear direction it needs to improve.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. Pupils’ attitudes to school are very good and they are keen to do well. Parents are justifiably pleased with the attitudes and values promoted by the school and feel this is the reason for its popularity in the community. From beginning nursery, children enjoy coming to school. This was evident in the big smiles with which the youngest children greeted their teachers at the start of sessions and the ease with which they left their parents. These young children are already very well settled and go about school routines confidently.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. Pupils are very enthusiastic in lessons and a good number are involved in extra curricular activities. Many attend the ‘Good Values Club’, which helps them to understand the principles of ‘love’, ‘truth’ and ‘honest living’. The club makes a positive contribution to pupils’ good attitudes and ability to listen to and respect one another. Many pupils are keen to participate in the dance and language clubs, which keep them in touch with their own cultural traditions. They showed considerable dedication to practice when rehearsing for a recent performance. Abbey Community Primary School - 14 11. In lessons pupils settle to work quickly and are well motivated. Often this is because teachers make the work interesting. In a reception class, for example, the children were eager to improve their number skills because of the interesting way the teacher involved them in making number patterns. Pupils like lessons that challenge them. For instance, in a Year 2 mathematics lesson,

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

mathematical vocabulary developed well because the work was effectively matched to pupils’ attainment and extra work was available for those who finished quickly. This meant that all were all learning at a good rate. Pupils in Year 6 responded very positively when reading The Stone Lion because their confidence was boosted by the good language support they were given. The result was that all were able to understand the story and contribute to the lesson. Occasionally pupils are not so positive about learning, but this is almost always as a result of teaching that is slow-paced; limited in capturing pupils’ interest or unchallenging.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils who are learning to speak English work well in small groups led by specialist teachers and support staff. They concentrate and try hard to use the English words that are being introduced. They respond well to praise and show pride in their achievements as, for example, when they begin to use short sentences such as ‘This is a square’. The self-esteem of pupils with special educational needs is promoted well, which results in them having a positive view of school and learning and ultimately supports the good progress they make.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Throughout the school, behaviour in lessons is good. Behaviour is almost always managed well by teachers, but even when it is not pupils rarely misbehave as a result. Behaviour around the school is not as good, however, and too frequently declines to a level that is unsatisfactory. When unsupervised, pupils often run rather than walk around the school. In assemblies, too many become restless and chatty, particularly if there are few adults supervising. In the Year 1 and 2 playground, play is extremely boisterous. This space is small, long and narrow, resulting in pupils running back and forth, sometimes quite wildly, which inevitably causes accidents. Because there is little to occupy pupils, they sometimes resort to throwing stones to amuse themselves. While lining up in the small corridor for lunch, some find the temptation to tussle with others too great to resist. Lunchtime supervisors are finding it difficult to cope with this type

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

of behaviour. Many juniors respond slowly when it is time to line up to go indoors after break; they find it difficult to wait quietly for teachers and are noisy and disorganised when going back into the building. Although pupils from different ethnic backgrounds normally work and play together well, members of the student council and Year 6 monitors report that bullying and racial harassment occasionally occurs in the playground. They are, however, sure that pupils know that this is not acceptable and are confident that incidents will be dealt with fairly by the staff. Last year there was one, fixed-period, exclusion for unacceptable behaviour.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. In lessons, relationships between adults and pupils and amongst the pupils themselves are very good. Pupils work hard to please teachers and show them respect. They say that they feel well supported and are confident to ask teachers for help with any academic or personal problems. This contributes positively to their happiness and willingness to learn. Pupils work well in groups. For example, in a Year 5 English lesson, paired work on computers allowed pupils who were more skilled to help those whose skills had not reached the same level. Pupils willingly accept responsibilities such as delivering registers, helping to monitoring behaviour in assemblies or joining the student council. However, given their capacity to act responsibly, they have very few opportunities to develop independent learning and enquiry skills and, as at the time of the last inspection, this aspect of their development remains a weakness.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Attendance is at the same level as the national average and is satisfactory. This represents an improvement since the last inspection and is a result of fewer pupils being taken on extended family holidays during term time. There is still, however, a significant number who are taken out of school for such holidays, which interrupts their learning. A small number of pupils regularly arrive late in the morning, which means that they miss the beginnings of lessons.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

Abbey Community Primary School - 15 16. Overall, teaching and learning are satisfactory and have improved since the last inspection. Improvement has been most noticeable for pupils in Years 1 and 2 where almost all lessons are now taught at least satisfactorily. Generally, there is no significant difference between the quality of teaching and learning in the infants or juniors, although variation does exist between different classes in the same year group and within the Foundation Stage. In half of the lessons seen during the inspection, teaching was good or better and most of the rest were satisfactory. A strength is the teaching of basic skills.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. Teaching for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory overall. Some good and very good teaching was seen, but some fell below the standard expected. Given children’s age and stages of development, some of the learning experiences provided and staff expectations are unrealistic. Opportunities to develop speaking skills are frequently missed and useful links between the different areas of learning are often not recognised or sufficiently well planned for. The role of teaching staff in outdoor play is mainly supervisory and therefore unsatisfactory. While some very good teaching and learning was seen in the reception classes, overall, there is a lack of awareness by some staff of the basic principles of teaching children in this phase such as:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• how young children learn; • the crucial role of language in supporting learning; and • how to plan and implement an appropriate curriculum.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. For pupils in Years 1 to 6, the most significant strengths and weaknesses in teaching and learning are:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• The teaching of the basic skills of reading, writing and number. • The good relationships between teachers and pupils. • The effectiveness of teaching for pupils with special educational needs, particularly the impact of support staff. • The good teaching and support from specialist staff for pupils who are learning to speak English.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• Teachers do not provide sufficient opportunities to promote pupils’ speaking skills and understanding of English, particularly through questioning. • Teachers do not make enough use of ongoing assessment (such as questioning and marking) to give pupils an insight into their learning; for example informing them of what they do well and how to improve.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Although there were good examples of teachers posing questions that required pupils to explain their work and understanding, too often questions required only short phrases or even one-word answers of the ‘yes/no’ type. In view of the significant number of pupils for whom English is an additional language, questioning of this nature does little to promote language or thinking skills, even for those who are not at an early stage of acquiring English. Moreover, it limits teachers’ ability to check how well individual pupils have understood what is being taught or what they have learned previously, which makes it difficult for teachers to set relevant targets to help them improve. Training in implementing the national strategies for literacy and numeracy has provided teachers with secure knowledge about how to promote basic reading, writing and number skills. In specific English and mathematics lessons, these skills are being promoted well, with the

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

setting arrangements generally allowing pupils of different attainment to progress at a similar rate. However, in subjects other than English and mathematics teachers frequently miss opportunities to reinforce learning of literacy and numeracy skills. Teachers of pupils in Years 5 and 6 often expect them to demonstrate a good degree of independence when working on activities. This was evident in subjects such as geography and history, where, for example, pupils completed research for topics. The activities also promoted pupils’ personal development and provided good opportunities for them to practise literacy and numeracy skills within a different context. Overall, however, instances such as these are limited. Some very effective Abbey Community Primary School - 16 teaching and learning is occurring in ICT but, outside of the timetabled ICT lessons in the computer suites, teachers make very little use of ICT to support leaning across the curriculum.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Throughout the school, there are many instances of good ‘shared teaching’ by class teachers and specialist staff funded by the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG). Most pupils benefit from the simultaneous use of Gujarati and English, particularly where the meaning of the languages is made more explicit by good resources or the opportunity for practical activity. In the best lessons, staff provide a good model of the English language to be used and encourage pupils to follow their example. This was successful, for example, in a Year 1 mathematics lesson where the teacher insisted on answers in full sentences. Too often, however, staff miss the opportunity to extend pupils’ responses and too much discussion takes the form of question and answer, often at a fairly simple level.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. Support staff in particular make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. In lessons, these staff are used well by most teachers. They have a clear understanding of their role and are involved throughout. For example, during class discussions, bilingual support staff prompt pupils and often rephrase questions in their home language to ensure that they understand. Teachers ensure that the group activities led by staff supporting pupils with special educational needs link well with the aims of the lesson. However, there is inconsistency in the way teachers make use of pupils’ IEP’s to plan specific activities that help them work toward their targets. Initiatives to support learning in literacy, such as the Additional Literacy Support (ALS) project for pupils in Years 3 and 4 are taught well by support staff. However, this is taught at the same time as English lessons for these pupils so they do not always benefit from the broad range of activities

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Most lessons have a positive start in which the aims are usually shared with pupils and used as the basis for an opening discussion. Teachers also frequently refer to previous work so that pupils are clear about what they will be learning. However, the aims are rarely revisited during the lesson, to allow pupils to keep in mind the purpose of what they are doing, or referred to at the end to help them understand what they have learnt and what needs to be tackled next. Although pupils frequently write down the aims of the lesson in their books, teachers do not use these as a basis for marking to help pupils understand what it is they have done well and how they can improve.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. A positive working atmosphere exists in almost all classes. Teachers have good relationships with pupils and most manage them well. Instructions are usually clear so that pupils know what is expected of them. Lessons, therefore, run smoothly with little disruption as pupils move from one activity to another. In a minority of lessons, when teachers’ expectations of how pupils should behave or the ways in which they should organise themselves are not made clear, a few misbehave and distract others. The setting of homework is inconsistent across the school and for most junior pupils it is unsatisfactory in mathematics.

p.16

PUPILS?

24. The curriculum for pupils in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory. For these pupils there is a sound range of learning opportunities that meet statutory requirements and include all subjects of the National Curriculum and RE. The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage is unsatisfactory. The planning of learning experiences has not yet been linked sufficiently well to the recommended curriculum for children of this age. The planning and implementation of outdoor learning is a particular weakness. Opportunities to take advantage of the learning potential of this aspect, not just for physical development but other areas, are consistently missed. The scope to promote high quality learning experiences offered by the very good quality of accommodation and resources is not exploited sufficiently. Similarly, even at this very early stage in the school year, there has been no adaptation of the ‘Literacy Hour’ for reception children and many,

p.16

PUPILS?

understandably, find it difficult to concentrate and listen to the teacher for the fairly lengthy, whole-class teaching, periods that form the first part of the hour. Abbey Community Primary School - 17 25. The IEP’s that are constructed for pupils with special educational needs are satisfactory overall. Since the last inspection, the provision has improved, but much of this has occurred in the last few months since the appointment of the current headteacher. Consequently, the changes have not yet had time to take effect. Class teacher and support staff are involved in the regular review of pupils’ IEP’s, but the targets in these vary in terms of how well they support teachers in planning work. While some are sufficiently detailed to guide the planning of activities that promote specific skills or knowledge, others are vague.

p.16

PUPILS?

26. The school is successfully using national guidance as the basis for its curriculum planning in a range of subjects. The National Numeracy Strategy has been satisfactorily implemented, but there is scope to make better use of subjects other than mathematics to promote these skills. The National Literacy Strategy has yet to be successfully adapted to meet the needs of pupils in the early stages of acquiring English. As a result, pupils are sometimes introduced to reading material that is too difficult for them to understand. Similarly, where lessons follow the recommended structure of the ‘literacy hour’, these pupils go through too many different sorts of activities to allow them to make sense of the intended learning. There are missed opportunities to promote the speaking skills of many pupils or for them to use and apply literacy skills in subjects other than English. For example, in history and geography, pupils complete

p.17

PUPILS?

considerable copywriting, with much of the work being directed too much by teachers. The result is that pupils do not have enough experiences of researching and writing independently.

p.17

PUPILS?

27. The school has a good programme to promote PSHE. Learning experiences teach pupils how to show consideration towards each other and live together in a community. They learn about themselves; how they change over time; and how they can look after their bodies and avoid abusing them; for instance, they consider the health problems related to smoking. It is the school’s policy not to provide formal sex education.

p.17

PUPILS?

28. A good range of extra-curricular opportunities enhances the curriculum. These include music, sport, dance, computer clubs, a Gujarati school and a ‘Good Values’ club. The schools’ very positive approach to equal opportunities means that every pupil has the chance to participate. Clubs are well attended by pupils and supported by staff. Throughout the school, all pupils generally have good access to the curriculum.

p.17

PUPILS?

29. The school is working hard to sustain and improve its effective community links. Currently, learning facilities for parents, and adults in the community, are available during and after the school day. The aim is to promote parents’ own skills and make them more aware of how they can support their children’s learning at home. The school’s good links with a local business centre recently proved invaluable in supporting learning; when computers in the school’s ICT suite were out of action, the school was able to use ICT facilities in the Centre to limit the impact of the temporary loss of facilities. Relationships with other educational institutions are good. The school works effectively with local schools in a number of ways, for instance, through its participation in a school development group that gives staff effective opportunities to share knowledge, expertise and experiences on policy and curriculum issues. Productive links with two

p.17

PUPILS?

local high schools assist the transition of Year 6 pupils. Through its links with several training agencies, the school effectively participates in the training of teachers, nursery nurses and childcare workers.

p.17

PUPILS?

30. The overall provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. Spiritual development is promoted well in RE lessons, with pupils exploring values and beliefs and showing respect for others’ talents. However, in other subjects, there are few instances where pupils are encouraged to develop a sense of spirituality. A notable exception was in a Year 3 class where the day started with quiet music playing during registration and ended with a prayer. Similarly while assemblies are carefully planned to promote awareness of moral issues, the spiritual dimension is often lacking, with minimal or no time given over to prayer or reflection; some assemblies do not meet the statutory requirement for a daily act of collective worship. While a variety of music is played as pupils enter and leave assemblies and songs from different faiths are sung, too many pupils pay little attention to the music and pass the time chatting as

p.17

PUPILS?

Abbey Community Primary School - 18 they wait for classes to arrive. Some make no effort to join in with the singing and teachers and staff in close proximity do not actively encourage them to do so.

p.18

PUPILS?

31. In contrast, moral development is promoted well in assemblies. For example, in one junior assembly, incidents from the life of Martin Luther King were recounted and used effectively to reinforce the school’s anti-racist policy. In lessons, teachers make their expectations of good behaviour and relationships clear and are quick to raise pupils’ awareness of issues such as friendship when opportunities occur. Circle time 5 sessions also provide good opportunities for pupils to discuss moral issues. In some classrooms, rules are clearly displayed, which help pupils understand the reasons for expected behaviour. The ‘Good Values Club’ makes an effective contribution to those pupils who attend. The school encourages pupils’ understanding of the purpose and work of a wide range of national and international charities so that they see the relevance of fundraising.

p.18

PUPILS?

32. To promote social development, pupils are encouraged to be helpful, and in many classes have opportunities to work collaboratively, where they are expected to show a good level of co- operation. Older pupils undertake some monitoring tasks, which supports their sense of responsibility and citizenship, but overall, there is limited scope for younger pupils to develop initiative or responsibility. The student council provides pupils with a formal channel to raise and discuss issues. The headteacher is receptive to the views and opinions put forward by the council and some improvements that have been made to the playground came from ideas generated by the council. Club activities, and events such as charity days and art and craft weeks, provide valuable opportunities to promote personal and social development. However, there are few opportunities, such as residential experiences, for pupils to develop team-building

p.18

PUPILS?

skills or to learn what it is like to live, for a short while, independently of their parents.

p.18

PUPILS?

33. Pupils gain an awareness of their own and other cultures in subjects such as art and design, geography, history, music and RE. However, with the exception of RE, this aspect is not always addressed in a deliberate or planned way. Books used in literacy and other lessons often reflect cultural diversity and there is a good range of dual-language books in the libraries. Occasional visits from musicians, actors and other artists also promote pupils’ cultural awareness.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

34. The school continues to provide a very supportive environment, in which staff respond well to pupils’ needs and gain their trust. They know pupils and their families well and are therefore able to support them academically and personally. Staff make a substantial contribution to pupils’ achievements by their generous, but deserved, use of praise, which encourages pupils to work hard. The positive way bilingual staff use their own dual-language abilities is another strong feature of support that help many pupils whose first language is not English understand and take part in lessons.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. There has been improvement in the level of overall attendance since the last inspection because of the success in helping parents understand the effect that extended holidays during term time have on their children’s education. However, procedures for monitoring and logging lateness remain inconsistent. Too many pupils who arrive late in the morning are not following required systems; this has implications for their health and safety.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

36. Behaviour is managed well in most lessons, although there are some inconsistencies in the way teachers deal with both good and unsatisfactory behaviour. Pupils are therefore sometimes unclear about how to behave when not directly supervised by teachers. Incidents of bullying and racial harassment are low because of regular monitoring and follow up, but the legal requirement to draw up and implement a race equality policy has not yet been met. Parents have justifiable concerns about the supervision of their children during lunchtime. Meals supervisors are attentive to pupils’ needs and help to ensure that dinner times run smoothly, but behaviour is not always

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

5 Where pupils sit in a circle and discuss pertinent issues related to their own and others lives . Abbey Community Primary School - 19 well managed. Supervisors have had some very recent training to help them manage behaviour in the playground, but this has not yet been put into practice.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

37. The headteacher is the designated person responsible for child protection and has had training for dealing with these matters. Training of all other members of staff is due to be addressed this term to ensure they are aware of the required procedures. The headteacher is very aware about all matters concerning health and safety. Regular checks are carried out and any needed action is taken immediately. However the building presents some health and safety constraints, which the headteacher although fully aware of, cannot address in the short term. For example, the location of the toilets in the extension means that children in the reception classes have to go in pairs or be accompanied by an adult, which takes time away from their learning. The poor ventilation in this area makes children very tired in hot weather, with an obvious impact on their ability to learn. The playground for pupils in Years 1 and 2 is too small and becomes very

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

congested when children line up here waiting to get their midday meal. There is no medical room in which children can lie down if they are feeling ill. The location of first aid boxes, storage of inhalers and number of staff trained to administer first-aid is unsatisfactory.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. The support provided by the EMAG team is used flexibly to meet the changing needs of the pupils. So, for instance, there is a good level of provision for asylum seekers or older pupils who join the school and who are new to English. These pupils are assessed in their home languages and in English and given support according to need. There is a good induction programme to introduce pupils to school routines. Speaking and listening groups are successful in enabling pupils to access and acquire a functional level of English.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. The procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics are good and have improved since the last inspection. The information is being used satisfactorily; for example, to predict potential National Curriculum test levels and to identify pupils who may benefit from specific work programmes such as ALS. A careful analysis of test results in these subjects is conducted; the performance of different groups of pupils is compared and aspects of tests in which pupils have not performed well are identified. However, as yet, this useful information is not being utilized sufficiently by teachers when planning lessons or to set pupils individual targets.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. For subjects other than English and mathematics, pupil performance data is not systematically collated. However, the need to develop a whole school approach to assessment has been identified as a priority. In several subjects such as science, ICT, geography and history, new assessment procedures are currently being developed and feature in subject action plans. The special needs co-ordinator (SENCO) is developing a systematic process for assessing pupils’ difficulties so that there is a link between the targets in pupils’ IEP’s and teaching methods to achieve them. Pupils receiving support from the EMAG team are assessed regularly to track their progress although the quality of the record keeping is variable. The best comments on progress are very specific and relate to pupils’ developing skills in English and their ability to use these. Other, more general, evaluations such as ‘improving slowly’ , are less informative or helpful

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

in setting future targets. Some records have gaps in basic information about the pupil, such as when s/he joined the school or took an extended holiday.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

41. The school’s partnership with parents has improved considerably since the last inspection. Parents’ views of the school are positive and though many expressed concerns over standards and improvement since the last inspection, most now feel very optimistic about the impact of the new headteacher in helping the school to improve.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

42. Parents value the school and view it as an integral part of the community. They are very supportive of their children’s learning and there is high parental attendance at all school functions, including curriculum events and parent consultation evenings. The recent and very successful Mela (school fete) raised considerable funds to purchase additional playground Abbey Community Primary School - 20 games and to offer support to a school in India. A good number of parents help in school and often go on to train as classroom assistants. They too offer useful bilingual support to pupils.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

43. Parents feel that teachers are approachable and that their relationships with them are good. All teachers are available in the playground in the morning and afternoon and this good day-to-day contact helps keep lines of communications open. The new headteacher maintains an ‘open door’ policy and is happy to see parents at short notice should the need arise.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

44. Bilingual support for parents is very good, including at parent consultations and curriculum evenings. Many staff speak to parents in their home language, which means that they can be reassured about their children’s progress. The home/school link officer is highly appreciated by both the school and parents and makes a significant contribution to liaison, for example in matters concerning attendance, induction and transfer to secondary school. She is particularly helpful to children and parents who are new to the school, being able to give practical advice about community services to help them settle in quickly. She successfully encourages new parents to involve themselves in community activities such as English language classes, which ultimately help them to become more positive about supporting their children’s learning.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

45. While verbal communication with parents is very good, not enough written information is routinely produced in community languages and a number of parents are unhappy about this. While the prospectus contains all of the required information neither it nor the governors’ annual report are particularly user-friendly; neither is available in any community language. Additionally the governors’ report is missing a considerable amount of required information such as the school’s targets for Year 6 pupils and the school’s progress in relation to its OFSTED action plan; the way in which attendance is reported is confusing. Information provided to parents about what their children will be learning is inconsistent between classes and therefore not helpful to all parents who wish to support their children at home.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are involved in the reviews of targets and occasionally they have a particular role in helping to formulate the IEP. However, this aspect of the school’s work has, rightly, been identified as an area for improvement.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. Parents are justifiably concerned about the quality of the annual written reports they receive about their children’s progress and the consistency with which homework is set. Inspection evidence shows that many reports are too similar and give insufficient information about what pupils need to do to improve. Parents are not given enough information about what to expect in terms of homework or about how to help their children with this.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48. The high quality of leadership and management provided by the headteacher is one of the school’s main strengths. Since the last inspection, management has undergone considerable turbulence, which has placed substantial constraints on the school’s development. Overall, improvement has not been satisfactory. However, in the term since the current headteacher’s appointment much improvement has occurred. Although only in post for a short time, the headteacher had gained a sharp insight into the school’s work. This has enabled her to quickly and accurately recognise the main strengths and weaknesses, prioritise areas for improvement and ensure that there are detailed action plans to support these. The direction provided by the headteacher for future improvement is clear and convincing. The right priorities for raising standards, teaching and learning have been identified and are supported by appropriate action

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

plans to guide development, with built-in evaluation criteria to judge success.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. The monitoring of teaching, although unsatisfactory until the appointment of the current headteacher, is now effective. The headteachcer has observed all teaching staff and has an astute awareness of the quality of teaching and learning throughout the school. The monitoring system established is closely linked to the school’s appraisal procedures and target setting, and now meets the statutory requirements for the performance management of teachers. However, Abbey Community Primary School - 21 the role of subject co-ordinators in monitoring standards, teaching and learning is generally unsatisfactory. The frequent changes of headteacher since the last inspection has not provided the consistency of direction needed to provide co-ordinators with opportunities to carry out this aspect of their role; consequently, many are insufficiently informed. Part of the impact of this weakness has been the limited information given to governors about how well pupils are

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

achieving. The new headteacher has told governors that standards are not high enough and that pupils are not achieving as well as they should. Whilst some governors were already very aware of this situation, others were less well informed. Some do not have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses or its potential to be much better than it currently is. While governors are committed and keen to help the school improve, many lack an understanding of their role and responsibilities. This has resulted in some confusion between the extent of governors’ involvement in day-to-day management issues, which are rightly the responsibility of the headteacher, and the longer-term strategic development of the school.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. The school has a good policy detailing its provision for pupils with special educational needs. This reflects the 2001 Code of Practice and shows that the school is aware and takes account of the rights and needs of disabled pupils. Prior to the appointment of the current headteacher, little clear planning or direction was given to this aspect. However, the role of the co-ordinator has recently been reviewed and developed, including providing training, non-teaching time to fulfil the role, and a programme to monitor teaching and learning. An appropriate action plan has been formulated that identifies the right priorities for the future.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. The overall efficiency of the school is good. Effective standards of financial planning support identified priorities. A considerable surplus had accumulated in the budget because governors were reluctant to make major spending decisions before the appointment of a permanent headteacher. The surplus has now been reduced to an acceptable level and resources for teaching and learning have improved considerably, particularly in ICT. Forecasts for spending are now linked well to the school’s educational priorities. Despite the teething problems that have been experienced with the new ICT systems, satisfactory use is made of technology to improve the efficiency of the school. Specific grants such as national funding for ICT and that for pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language are used for their intended purpose. The school successfully applies the principles of best value in the

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

spending and other decisions it makes. For instance, recently, parents, pupils and staff have been consulted on a number of issues to ensure that all are involved in the decision-making process. There are good systems for considering alternative providers for services and resources to ensure the best value for money.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. Overall, the number and experience of teachers is appropriate to meet pupils’ needs. Newly qualified teachers receive good support from the headteacher and colleagues. The deployment of support staff, including specialist staff who support pupils learning to speak English, is well- organised. This deployment is effective in responding to the changing needs of the school and is central in creating an environment that includes everyone. However, there is no systematic evaluation of the work of the EMAG team and its impact on pupils’ progress. The team co- ordinator has a very full teaching commitment and little time to monitor and support the work of colleagues.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. While aspects of the accommodation present some significant health and safety issues (outlined earlier) the building is spacious and maintained to a high level of cleanliness. A rolling programme of maintenance and redecoration has recently been initiated. There are specific rooms for design and technology, music and ICT, resulting in resources for these lessons being readily available. Additional bases allow for individual attention and small group tuition. Ramps and a lift are put to good use, as are aids to help mobility of disabled pupils, ensuring access to all parts of the building. The junior playground is spacious and adequate for the teaching of PE, although the field is not used as much as it could be. There is a pond and spinney to enhance work in science, but they have become neglected and are not used as much as they could be.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. Resources have improved significantly since the last inspection. Those for mathematics, science and the Foundation Stage are particularly plentiful and in other subjects they are at least Abbey Community Primary School - 22 satisfactory. Overall, resources are used satisfactorily to support teaching and learning. In the Foundation Stage, the use of resources to support outdoor activities is unsatisfactory. Abbey Community Primary School - 23

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

55. The headteacher and governors should now:

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Raise standards in English, science and ICT throughout the school and in

p.23

English

• Improve teachers’ questioning skills and increase opportunities for pupils to engage in discussions and other speaking activities in lessons across the curriculum. • Improve pupils’ understanding of what they read and provide more opportunities for independent research. • Provide more opportunities for pupils to write independently in English lessons and other subjects.

p.23

Mathematics

• Provide more opportunities for pupils to use and apply mathematics in problem solving work. • Make better provision for all pupils to use and develop numeracy skills across the curriculum.

p.23

Science

• Provide more opportunities for pupils to engage in experimental and investigative work. • Provide a better balance between teaching and learning experiences in the different aspects of science. • Implement an effective assessment system to identify pupils’ needs and track their progress.

p.23

ICT

• Make better use of ICT to support learning across the curriculum. • Provide training for teachers to improve their subject knowledge and confidence in using ICT. • Implement an effective assessment system to identify pupils’ needs and track their progress.

p.23

ICT

(In English, mathematics and science, better consistency of teaching is also needed to raise standards. In particular, in terms of using assessment information to match work to pupils’ needs; achieving good pace in lessons; improving marking and target setting; and making more effective use of homework.)

p.23

ICT

[Main paragraphs: English – 72-76; mathematics – 78-83; science – 85-90; ICT – 112-115]

p.23

ICT

(2) Ensure that the curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage is planned

p.23

teaching and learning experiences for children in this phase. In particular,

provide training for teaching staff and improve provision for outdoor learning.

p.23

teaching and learning experiences for children in this phase. In particular,

[Main paragraphs 17; 24; 56-71] Abbey Community Primary School - 24 (3) Ensure that subject and other co-ordinators have a greater understanding of

p.23

areas of responsibility by:

• Providing opportunities (in line with the school’s priorities) for them to monitor these aspects. This should include rigorous analysis of pupils’ work and performance data in the core subjects. In non-core subjects, co-ordinators should implement assessment procedures and analyse the information.

p.24

areas of responsibility by:

[Main paragraphs 49 and in various subject sections of Part D of the Commentary]

p.24

areas of responsibility by:

(4) Provide parents with better information by:

p.24

areas of responsibility by:

• Improving annual written reports. • Where possible, providing more information in community languages.

p.24

The governors have also been asked to address the health and safety issues identified in the

In addition to the key issues above, governors should consider the following, less important, weaknesses for inclusion in their action plan:

p.24

The governors have also been asked to address the health and safety issues identified in the

• Provide more opportunities for pupils to show initiative and independence in learning (14). • Improve Year 1 and 2 pupils’ understanding of maps (101). • Improve the effectiveness of lunchtime supervisors in managing pupils’ behaviour (13; 36). • Make sure all governors understand their role and responsibilities (49). • Meet legal requirements by ensuring that the prospectus and governors’ annual report to parents contains all necessary information (45). Abbey Community Primary School - 25

p.24

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 43

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.25

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 more than one percentage point.

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 20 523

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/A 108

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 2

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 128

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 539

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 69

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 41

p.25

Attendance

School data 5.9 School data 0.0 Abbey Community Primary School - 26 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

p.25

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Abbey Community Primary School - 27

p.26

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 2001 43 44 87

p.27

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.27

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

Boys 34 37 36 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 39 41 41

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 84 (82) 90 (86) 89 (91) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.27

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys 34 36 39 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 40 41 41

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 85 (84) 89 (93) 92 (88) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.27

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

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

p.27

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 42 49 91

p.27

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys 30 31 35 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 36 33 42

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 73 (35) 70 (78) 85 (82) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.27

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys 26 28 30 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 34 33 38

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 66 (73) 67 (73) 76 (76) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

p.27

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Abbey Community Primary School - 28

p.27

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 6 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 7 1 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 1 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 2 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. Abbey Community Primary School - 29

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 24.7 Financial year 2001/02

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20.4

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 1,424,678

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 21 Total expenditure 1,376,084

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 501 Expenditure per pupil 2,406

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 114,083

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 162,677

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 39:1

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 37

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 7

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 6.4

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Abbey Community Primary School - 30

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 51 37 4 2 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 55 35 3 0 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 33 31 15 11 10

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 53 25 12 4 6

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 55 29 4 2 9

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 61 26 6 3 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 48 33 7 2 10

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 53 31 4 3 10

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 52 35 4 2 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 46 32 7 3 11

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Percentage of responses in each category

The results show that a significant minority of parents felt unable to express firm views on many of the questions. This reflects the limited information provided to parents in the past . At the meeting with the Registered Inspector, many parents pointed out that they were receiving much more information since the appointment of the current headteacher. Abbey Community Primary School - 31

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Personal, social and emotional development

56. Children like and feel safe with the adults who teach them. As a result, they come happily into school and are confident to leave their parents. Children behave very well and show good interest in the activities provided. Their attention span and concentration is developing, for instance, as they work in activities such as the water, with construction toys or when listening to a story.

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Personal, social and emotional development

57. Both nursery and reception children behave very well and respond to the high expectations set by teaching staff in this aspect. However, some of the behaviour expectations for nursery children are unrealistic. For example, the frequent insistence on being quiet, still, lining-up or forming a circle are inappropriate for their stage of intellectual and physical development. While children do need to learn these rules and routines, too much emphasis is placed on very young children conforming to them. While teachers of reception children have more realistic expectations, children are sometimes required to sit for too long listening to teachers. In some literacy lessons, for example, children sit for over half an hour before doing any practical work. While this might be a realistic expectation toward the end of the year, after only a few weeks in school, the result is that the good concentration children show for the first part of the session fades, limiting

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Personal, social and emotional development

how effectively they can learn in the last part.

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Personal, social and emotional development

58. Some good examples of staff promoting children’s manners were seen in various contexts. For instance, during snack time, bilingual support staff provided good role models for reception children in saying please and thank-you. They also provided good ‘model’ questions for the children to use as they handed out the snack such as ‘Would you like some apple? ’ These good opportunities for promoting social skills are not always capitalised upon by nursery staff.

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Personal, social and emotional development

59. By the time children are at the end of the reception year, they show good skills in dressing and undressing and are very independent in attending to their personal needs such as going to the toilet and washing their hands. They have learned to take turns and share, to raise their hands to answer questions and play happily together, for example in the puppet theatre. Skills of independence are fostered satisfactorily in the reception classes, but in the nursery there are not enough opportunities for children to try out their own ideas and take greater control in organising aspects of their work.

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Communication, language and literacy

60. Bilingual support staff promote children’s speaking skills very well and make an effective contribution to their learning in this aspect. Other staff are less effective in this area. In the nursery, the children’s natural enthusiasm to talk and comment, for example about the pictures in a book that is being read to them, is often suppressed in favour of them being quiet and listening carefully. Similarly, in various activities, including play, nursery staff do not encourage children to talk enough and their questions to children often require only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. While the situation is better in the reception classes, overall, questioning does not promote children’s speaking skills as well as it should.

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Communication, language and literacy

61. Reading and writing skills are promoted satisfactorily, and some good teaching of literacy skills was seen in the reception classes. In the nursery, children learn rhymes, listen to stories and experiment with making writing-like marks. In the nursery ‘surgery’ an ‘appointments book’ contains a range of such marks and some recognisable letter shapes. However, opportunities for writing and reading within play contexts such as these are fairly limited in both nursery and reception, with home corners and other such areas having few resources to encourage these skills. In specific literacy lessons, reception children enjoy stories and information books, joining Abbey Community Primary School - 32 in with repeated sections and learning that the print is read from left to right. There is some good teaching of letter sounds. For instance, in one lesson each child chose an item from a tray of everyday objects, named it (which reinforced basic vocabulary) and identified its initial letter

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Communication, language and literacy

sound. Later, their understanding of letter formation was promoted well as they painted their names or used coloured doh to form the first letter. By the end of the reception year, children use the pictures in books to talk about the story and characters. While some can recognise common words and character names from their reading books, many are still at a very early stage of learning to read and write. Handwriting skills develop satisfactorily. In the nursery, children develop pencil control when completing pattern work. In reception, children write over and under teachers’ writing, gaining control over the size and shape of letters, although many attempts are still quite ‘shaky’ and a lot of letters are reversed.

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Mathematical development

62. Teaching staff promote children’s counting skills and understanding of number well in reception and satisfactorily in nursery. In both settings, they involve children in rhymes and action songs that promote mathematical development so that, for instance, children gain a practical awareness of addition and subtraction. Sorting and matching activities help children understand ideas about number, size and equivalence. While a variety of ‘play’ and practical activities are on offer, the potential of these to promote mathematical understanding and skills is often not exploited. For example, the language of capacity is not promoted well as children play in the nursery water trough and there are missed opportunities to promote learning through outdoor play. Some good use of registration periods were noted in reception classes where teachers involved children in counting the number present and in finding the right number of straws for the

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Mathematical development

63. Reception children confidently count up to 10 and higher attainers accurately count backwards from 10. Children are beginning to recognise the numerals to ten and are learning to write these correctly and match them to a given number of objects. Some good teaching was seen in reception. Children participated well in the lively counting sessions at the start of lessons and made some good gains in learning. In a lesson focusing on pattern, the teacher provided a good range of activities that reinforced this idea in ways that the children understood. For instance, by involving them in making a sound pattern through sequenced actions such as tapping their heads, knees and clapping and by singing a patterned song. This prepared them well for the practical group work that followed. Here, children made their own patterns; for example by threading different colours and shapes of beads onto string or by choosing different colours and

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Mathematical development

sizes of plastic bears to match a given pattern. Children recognise and name some basic two- dimensional shapes such as a square, circle and triangle.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

64. Overall, children’s knowledge and understanding of the world is promoted satisfactorily, although provision is generally best in reception. Not enough use is made of outdoor learning and there are lost opportunities to exploit the potential of work in other areas of learning, for example, to develop early scientific skills. Teacher intervention in children’s activities in sand, water and with other materials does not focus sufficiently on developing their understanding of the properties or on helping children to talk about what they are doing. Opportunities to focus on forces while children play outdoors on wheeled toys or with balls are not capitalised upon. For instance, nobody talks to the children about how they are making the big toys move or the ball roll. However, interest tables containing, for example, natural materials or models of minibeasts, which children look closely at through magnifiers, arouse curiosity. Bilingual staff were observed

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

promoting children’s language in these contexts.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

65. Discussions that focus on what children have done at home or about significant celebrations that they have taken part in help them gain an awareness of the past and the traditions of the community in which they live. Children are keen to use the computers. Nursery children are beginning to understand that there is a connection between clicking the mouse on different parts Abbey Community Primary School - 33 of the screen and marks appearing. Many reception children have gained good mouse control and use this to select colours when using an art package to make pictures or patterns. Many were keen to fill in an outline of an elephant drawn on the screen by the teacher to make their own patchwork elephant linking to the ‘Elmer’ story.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

66. Early design and technology skills are developed satisfactorily in nursery as children explore how to join commercial construction equipment or use glue to stick collage materials. Reception children use reclaimed materials to make ‘junk’ models of rockets. They designed a pattern on card in preparation for icing a biscuit. In the practical work that followed they made good efforts to replicate the pattern and showed care and growing control over the flow of the icing.

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Physical development

67. Weaknesses in provision for outdoor learning limit the progress children make in this area and others. The development of nursery children’s physical skills is affected more adversely than reception because reception children have more opportunities to develop physical skills in PE lessons. Nevertheless, the whole experience of outdoor play for all children is unsatisfactory. Insufficient use is made of the resources available and staff do little more than supervise the children.

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Physical development

68. In the nursery, there is significant space and a very good range of equipment to develop children’s large movements and co-ordination, but little use was made of either during the inspection. Nursery children’s control over manipulating small objects develops satisfactorily in some activities, but others are not well thought through; for example the Lego equipment provided was too small, which made it difficult for the children to join the pieces and pull them apart. Similarly, some of the jigsaw activities were too difficult. While activities that involve the children in working with malleable materials are provided, staff intervention is limited in terms of promoting the type of moulding and pinching movements that develop the muscles used for writing.

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Physical development

69. During the inspection, some very good teaching and learning was seen in reception PE lessons, which children clearly enjoy. In one, children’s very limited understanding of space and the need to be aware of others around them was developed very effectively. Without interrupting the flow or interest of the activities, which involved children moving in different directions and in different ways, the teacher continually emphasised the idea of using space. By the end of the lesson, children were not ‘bunching together’ as much as at the start. Bilingual support staff make a very good contribution in helping children to understand teachers’ instructions thereby ensuring good participation. In class, a range of tasks such as threading and work using crayons, brushes, malleable materials help to develop children’s finer movements. They are taught the correct way to hold pencils and use equipment such as scissors and spatulas, for example to control the

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Creative development

70. A satisfactory range of activities is provided in both nursery and reception, including painting, collage, printing and modelling. However, teachers do not always give children enough scope to show independence and creativity in tasks. Moreover, not enough advantage is taken of opportunities to develop language skills. For instance, in a nursery activity in which children explored foam that had been spread onto a table, they were only asked how it felt. Teaching staff do not participate enough in role-play activities with children, for example by demonstrating language for them, providing scenarios or extending their talk. During the inspection, the puppet theatre in the shared area provided a good source for developing creative play and language but, other than the bilingual staff, very little adult intervention was evident.

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Creative development

71. Children’s drawings and paintings show development from nursery to reception, for example, incorporating more detail such as body parts and facial features in paintings of people. Some good creative learning was evident as reception children explored colour mixing by dipping each Abbey Community Primary School - 34 hand in a different primary colour of paint then rubbing them together to produce a new colour before making handprints on paper. Children learn the words and tunes to a range of songs and rhymes and enjoy singing together. They move their bodies rhythmically to music and explore the sounds made by instruments.

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ENGLISH

72. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are below average. In 1997, the last inspection found much the same situation. Given the high proportion of pupils learning to speak English, the school faces particular challenges. However, overall improvement since the last inspection has not been satisfactory and standards are still not high enough. Despite the co-ordinator’s good vision and efforts, the same patterns of weakness as identified in 1997 remain, affecting boys, girls and different ethnic groups equally. The co-ordinator has introduced a wide range of good programmes, procedures and resources, but these have had little impact on standards because the lack of consistent leadership since the last inspection has meant that they are not yet consistently understood or used. Nevertheless, they have significantly strengthened the basis on which the school can build better standards. Areas of underachievement are most marked in

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ENGLISH

the work of the average and higher attaining pupils. By contrast, pupils who have special educational needs or who are in the early stages of learning English benefit from consistently good quality support and achieve well. Indeed, effective bilingual support is a good feature of many English lessons.

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ENGLISH

73. Pupils develop secure listening skills, but progress in speaking is uneven and, overall, unsatisfactory. Other than bilingual teachers and specialist support staff for pupils learning to speak English, very few teachers promote these skills well. Almost all pupils have good attitudes to learning and listen attentively. They learn to listen for different purposes. When working with partners, they usually exchange ideas equally, value differences and help each other. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 talk maturely in group activities to negotiate roles, agreements and solve problems. However, in more formal situations, such as reading and discussing texts shared with the whole class, pupils are given very few opportunities to read expressively; provide extended answers; or explain what they have learned. In only one of the lessons seen did the teacher help the pupils to develop a dramatic reading that really brought out the qualities of the

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ENGLISH

story. Weaknesses in teachers’ questioning are central to pupils’ lack of progress in speaking skills. Although there are pockets of good practice in both the infants and juniors, cumulatively, the effect of weak questioning restricts pupils’ progress in speaking and other aspects of English, for example in understanding how to question, analyse, evaluate and reason. All groups lose out equally over time.

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ENGLISH

74. In reading, the satisfactory progress that pupils make in learning basic skills runs alongside unsatisfactory progress in using them. On the positive side, Year 2, pupils read simple texts accurately and enjoyment. Their secure knowledge of letter sounds enables them to tackle unfamiliar words. Satisfactory teaching and well-established routines consistently promote pupils’ skills and knowledge and enjoyment of books and libraries. Infant pupils know how to distinguish fiction and non-fiction books and how to locate, use and return books from the school’s library. Year 6 pupils know how to find information from different sources. Books are precisely matched to pupils’ age and attainment. While all of this is satisfactory, pupils do not make as much progress in learning to see different layers of meaning in texts. For instance, when asked to discuss the effect of the opening of a story with which they were unfamiliar, a

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ENGLISH

group of Year 6 pupils showed very limited skills. Their understanding of how the author’s choice of language influenced the reader was poor. The school’s analysis of test results identifies this as a weakness for teachers to tackle, but a chief cause is the unsatisfactory quality of most discussions of texts.

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ENGLISH

75. The below average writing standards have the same root cause as those in reading. By the end of Year 2, pupils have generally made satisfactory progress in learning to write creatively. Higher attainers write imaginative and well-sequenced stories that show increasing use of detail and correct grammar; they begin to use description and dialogue to add character and interest. Lower Abbey Community Primary School - 35 attainers write very simple, but coherent stories. Their sentences and word choices lack variety, but are mainly correct. In Years 3 to 6, progress in writing is unsatisfactory. By the end of Year 6 writing does not show the fluency and range expected. To raise standards the school has introduced a weekly writing lesson for every class, which is a well-motivated and promising extension of the daily literacy lesson. It places good emphasis in promoting better skills in planning, drafting, composing and editing across a range of different types of writing. Lesson time

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ENGLISH

is not always used well, however; for example, unnecessary copying tasks sometimes deny pupils adequate time to practise and secure new learning.

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ENGLISH

76. Taken overall, the quality of teaching and learning are satisfactory, with strengths in the teaching of basic skills; management of pupils; and use of resources, including support staff. The teaching of basic skills such as letter sounds and how to blend them to read unknown words; handwriting; spelling; punctuation and information retrieval skills are taught well in lessons, although not promoted effectively in other subjects. By the end of Year 2, pupils form letters neatly and spell simple words correctly. Junior pupils take considerable time to present writing neatly and spell words correctly, although this sometimes slows the pace and fluency of work, even for some of the oldest and higher attaining pupils. Most pupils spell correctly, but some errors highlight pupils’ limited understanding of the common patterns and systems of English spelling. Some teachers try to make use of ICT in lessons, but often the activities are not linked

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ENGLISH

with the learning intentions. Despite this, some effective methods are developing. For example, a teacher used the computer very well to involve an entire Year 4 class in writing a character portrait, using ideas that the pupils deduced from the character’s behaviour in a story.

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ENGLISH

77. Since the last inspection, good improvement to book resources and library provision has promoted pupils’ competence in reading a range of texts and generally improved research skills. Careful investment has resulted in the school having a wide and up-to-date range of teaching texts and books that are relevant to pupils’ life experiences.

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MATHEMATICS

78. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are below average. Although there has been an improvement to standards since the last inspection, the rate of improvement during Years 1 and 2 has not been as good as in Years 3 to 6, especially in relation to how well pupils use and apply mathematical skills.

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MATHEMATICS

79. By the end of Year 6, higher and lower attaining pupils have made good progress and average attainers have progressed satisfactorily. This variation in achievement is directly linked to the quality of teaching pupils receive and the importance and extent of the focus different teachers give to the development of pupils using and applying mathematical knowledge and skills in different situations. Where teaching is most effective, work is provided to promote these skills and pupils are encouraged to discuss their work, using a range of mathematical vocabulary, to explain the strategies they have used to arrive at answers. Support staff make an effective contribution to promoting the good progress of pupils with special educational needs and enable those at an early stage of learning English to understand and take part in lessons. .

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MATHEMATICS

80. Although standards on beginning Year 1 are below those expected for pupils’ age, there is a clear focus on developing numeracy skills. By the end of Year 2, pupils are quite confident and proficient in working with numbers up to 100. They add and subtract numbers up to 10 satisfactorily, making good use of their knowledge of number facts in this work. Pupils know that numbers can be added in any order. Higher attainers understand that subtraction is the inverse of addition and use this knowledge to check if their answers are correct. Satisfactory work on shape, results in average and higher attainers being able to name and describe the properties of simple two and three-dimensional shapes. A recent focus on the development of mathematical vocabulary is improving pupils’ ability to use this when discussing their work or explaining how they have solved simple problems. However, pupils’ experience of mathematical problem solving

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MATHEMATICS

is very limited so they do not know how to use and apply what they have learned in real situations. Abbey Community Primary School - 36 81. By the end of Year 6, higher and average attainers have a satisfactory grasp of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and are confident working with high numbers. They complete various numerical calculations quickly and accurately in their heads; for example, multiplying numbers in thousands by two-figure numbers. Higher attainers understand how calculators can help them to work with much larger numbers. These pupils also have a good range of strategies for solving mathematical problems and clearly and confidently explain these when talking about their work. All pupils have good recall of multiplication tables. Lower attainers show a satisfactory understanding of hundreds, tens and units and use this to solve simple multiplication and division problems using whole numbers. They add simple fractions such as

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MATHEMATICS

halves, quarters, thirds and sixths and know when two simple fractions are equivalent; for instance that two quarters have the same value as one half. All pupils collect data and produce graphs; overall, attainment in this area is satisfactory. Lower attainers produce simple bar graphs, which they use to show distributions of things like eye colour of pupils in the class. Higher and average attainers use graphs to record things like change over time. The good opportunities offered by ICT to support this work have not been capitalised upon sufficiently by teachers . Similarly, while pupils have a satisfactory understanding of shape and angle, opportunities to support understanding of these aspects through, for example, control technology, are not exploited enough.

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MATHEMATICS

82. Teaching is satisfactory overall, but some good and better teaching was seen. In the most successful lessons, teachers’ good subject knowledge results in them giving clear explanations and planning challenging work that builds on what pupils have already learned. Recent improvements to teachers’ planning and setting is allowing a better match of work to pupils’ needs, but not all teachers are successful in achieving this and some pupils work on tasks that are too easy or too difficult. The use of homework to support learning is inconsistent between classes although it is used well for higher attainers in Year 5 where it is set regularly and referred to in lessons as part of the learning process.

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MATHEMATICS

83. Overall, teachers’ implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy is satisfactory. This has resulted in the basic number skills of Year 6 pupils being in line with expectations for their age. There are some good opportunities for pupils to use number skills in other subjects. For instance, in geography, older pupils used a scale to calculate distances between towns. Overall, however, the potential of other subjects to promote numeracy skills are not exploited enough.

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MATHEMATICS

84. The subject is being well managed by the headteacher who recently took on the co-ordinator role. The headteacher is well aware of the areas that need improving and that standards are still not high enough. There is an effective action plan to support the drive for improvement. Assessment data is being used effectively to track pupils’ progress and to aid the setting of targets for improved standards. Resources are plentiful and used well to support teaching and learning.

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SCIENCE

85. By the end of Years 2 and 6 standards are below average. Despite improvements in Year 6 pupils’ test results between 1997 and 2001, performance in tests still remains significantly below that being achieved by pupils in similar schools. Most pupils are not achieving as well as they should; in Year 5, however, progress is good. The most significant weakness is pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding of the experimental and investigative aspects of science. This is because they do not have enough opportunities to develop key skills such as predicting, investigating, observing and independent recording.

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SCIENCE

86. By the end of Year 2, pupils have spent considerable time learning about living things. They recognise a variety of plants and animals and know something of the conditions they need for growth. They are aware of the effect of exercising and eating the right types of food. Pupils know less about the properties and uses of materials or about how various processes can alter materials. They have constructed simple circuits and know that pushing and pulling are different Abbey Community Primary School - 37 types of forces. By the end of Year 6, pupils continue to spend considerable time learning about living things, with other aspects of science receiving significantly less attention. They have a sound knowledge of habitats and food chains, but are less sure about the role of organs and other parts of the human body or of how plants reproduce. Their knowledge of circuits is limited and although they have been taught about the sun, earth and moon, their recall of what they have

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SCIENCE

87. Teaching fails to capitalise on pupils’ enthusiasm and abilities, resulting in unsatisfactory learning. There is an over-emphasis on teaching about life processes and living things, with evidence from pupils’ work and discussion showing significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding of other aspects of science. When pupils do engage in investigations and experiments, teachers control these activities too much. Consequently, pupils have insufficient chances to develop key scientific skills such as what makes a fair test. Measurements, diagrams and graphs are sometimes used to help pupils record their work although the potential of ICT to support work in collecting, interpreting or recording data is minimal. Work is regularly marked, but there are very few comments that help pupils to understand how well they have learned or to extend learning further.

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SCIENCE

88. Work in books shows that pupils of different attainment are frequently expected to record their work in exactly the same way. This often consists of copying activities, which do not provide sufficient challenge for higher attainers and result in lower attainers concentrating more on the task of writing than of gaining a clear understanding of the science.

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SCIENCE

89. Although there is now an appropriate scheme of work and resources have improved, overall improvement since the last inspection is unsatisfactory because standards remain low. Although there are agreed assessment procedures, these are not carried out consistently. Some analysis of pupils’ test results has taken place, but there has not been any opportunity for the subject co- ordinator to make appropriate checks on the quality of teaching and learning.

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SCIENCE

90. The school plans a variety of visits and visitors to enhance learning experiences. While the quality of these visits and visitors are designed to enhance learning experiences, their appropriateness is not always well thought through. For example, the content of a production from a theatre company during the inspection was not modified in any realistic way to meet the wide range of needs and attainment of Year 1 to Year 6 pupils to whom it was presented.

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ART AND DESIGN

91. By the end of Years 2 and 6 standards are broadly average and all pupils make at least satisfactory progress. This is a similar picture to that found by the last inspection. However, drawing and sketching skills are now being taught in a systematic way and provision in this aspect has improved. Pupils now have regular opportunities to draw from observation and Year 6 pupils make satisfactory use of sketchbooks to develop these skills.

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ART AND DESIGN

92. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Pupils are provided with a satisfactory range of learning opportunities that develops skills progressively, including those of composition, perspective, sketching and shading. Using a range of media and techniques, pupils draw, paint, print and model. Teachers encourage them to evaluate their work and consider ways in which they might improve it. Year 5 and 6 pupils are sometimes required to write evaluations of their work, which provides effective support for literacy skills. Throughout the school, pupils are introduced to the work of famous artists and try hard to produce their own work in their various styles. Overall, the use of ICT to support learning is underdeveloped, but a start has been made. For example, Year 1 pupils use an art package to draw a face on the computer screen and Year 5 produce computer-generated pictures in the style of Henri Matisse.

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ART AND DESIGN

93. By Year 2, pupils mix paint to achieve a range of colours and shades. They blend oil pastels effectively and learn a range of techniques to create various effects with this media as well as pencils, paint and charcoal. Pupils use these skills satisfactorily when producing observational Abbey Community Primary School - 38 drawings of fruit and portraits of each other. By the end of Year 6, they make their own decisions about which materials to use to express ideas and perceptions. They compare their work and consider ways in which it might be improved. Skills in producing three-dimensional work, for instance when using clay, are developed satisfactorily.

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ART AND DESIGN

94. Art makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. An art day held once a term broadens opportunities for pupils to develop skills and knowledge. Completed work is attractively displayed alongside examples of the work of artists, designers and craftspeople, making many areas of the school vibrant places to visit. Displays include artwork from a range of cultures and traditions and pupils are encouraged to explore emotions and responses to events through art. For example Year 1 draw happy and sad faces and discuss the techniques they have used to portray these different emotions.

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ART AND DESIGN

95. Overall, management of the subject is satisfactory. However, the co-ordinator has not had any opportunity to monitor teaching and learning and there is no formal system of assessing how well pupils are achieving. However, these two areas have been identified as priorities for development.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

96. There is considerable variation in the standards achieved by pupils in different classes and year groups. However, by the end of Year 6, they are broadly average and similar to those achieved at the time of the last inspection. There is insufficient evidence to make a secure judgment on the standards achieved by the end of Year 2.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

97. Overall, progress is satisfactory, but some good progress is made in certain classes where pupils’ work reaches a higher than average standard. In a Year 5, class, for example, pupils talked enthusiastically about making masks; their finished work closely matched their original designs. Pupils’ written work shows that they are not familiar with evaluating their completed products. Pupils are enthusiastic about the subject and work well during lessons, including collaborating with others and demonstrating safe handling and care of tools and equipment.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

98. By the end of Year 2, pupils have had opportunities to construct models, including wheeled vehicles and animals with moving joints, from a variety of materials. They also build models from a wide range of commercial construction equipment. By the end of Year 6, pupils design and make a range of models and artefacts, including moving models operated by a pneumatic system. Often work is effectively linked to other subjects as, for example, in the Greek masks and Tudor houses that have been constructed by juniors. Pupils learn how to prepare a range of food items and evaluate them, but opportunities to work with textiles or for older juniors to design models with more complex operating systems are limited.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

99. Since no lessons were seen in Years 1 and 2 and evidence of these pupils’ previous work was extremely limited, no secure judgement can be made on the quality of teaching and learning. Teaching in the juniors is satisfactory overall, although some good teaching was seen. In lessons seen, pupils had access to a good range of resources and teachers focused effectively on the design process, encouraging pupils to look critically at their work. However, past work shows that some of the design activities are quite prescriptive and narrow, which limits opportunities for pupils to generate their own designs and develop creativity. Little use is made of ICT to support work in this subject.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

100. Since the last inspection, the planning of learning experiences has improved, as have the quality and quantity of resources. However, pupils do not always get the help they need to achieve as well as they could because teachers are inconsistent in their implementation and use of assessment. Improvements to assessment and the provision of further staff training have been identified as priorities.

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GEOGRAPHY

Abbey Community Primary School - 39 101. By the end of Year 2, standards are below average and by the end of Year 6 they are average. This reflects a similar picture to that found by the last inspection. However, despite the below average standards of Year 2 pupils, there has been improvement since the last inspection. The current weakness now relates specifically to pupils’ mapping skills, which are below the level expected. Overall, progress during Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory and junior pupils make good progress.

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GEOGRAPHY

102. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 learn about different places in this country and abroad and develop a satisfactory understanding of how they differ; for example the difference between seaside and city buildings. On walks around the area close to the school, pupils are taught to look carefully around them so as to learn more about the place in which they live and how it is different to places they have visited or seen in pictures. Using what they see they explain why they would like to visit or go on holiday to specific places, giving reasons such as ‘because it is sunny or snowy’ . However, pupils are not as good at comparing how their own lives are similar or different from people who live elsewhere. Whilst they learn that maps show the location of places, and can identify the United Kingdom on a world map, their ability to draw their own maps of familiar or imaginary places is weak.

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GEOGRAPHY

103. As pupils get older, good teaching and learning experiences support them in developing a secure understanding of all the aspects of the subject. For instance, they are required to research information from different sources, including pictures and encyclopaedias. The good range of visits to places such as Oakham in Year 5 make learning more meaningful. However, pupils are not given enough opportunities to use ICT to support learning, for example, to present their work or organise information in graphs or charts. They draw detailed maps making good use of a key to show different places and features. They understand how to use a map to find places although higher attainers do not learn how to use the more complex grid references needed for Ordnance Survey maps. Pupils know that areas of the world have different climates and understand that this affects the way people live. They also develop a good understanding of how people affect the

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GEOGRAPHY

environment, for instance through pollution and the demands of growing populations on factors such as water usage. In their writing, higher attainers use observations and other evidence to express a personal view on such issues.

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GEOGRAPHY

104. Overall, teaching and learning are satisfactory. However, learning is better for pupils in Years 5 and 6. This is mainly due to the higher expectations of teachers and the provision of a better range of tasks and activities. Year 5 and 6 teachers place a stronger emphasis on pupils recording ideas in their own words, using number skills to create graphs and charts, and finding information out for themselves. However, in younger pupils’ books there are a lot of examples of copied work. The most effective teaching gives equal emphasis to the different aspects of the subject so that pupils develop a secure understanding of all areas.

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GEOGRAPHY

105. In most lessons, teachers share the aim of the lesson with pupils at the start so they know what they will be learning. Where teaching is most effective, teachers ask questions that require pupils to use what they have learnt previously to answer. However, questions are not always targeted to individual pupils, which limits teachers’ ability to check on who has understood. The end parts of lessons are not used particularly effectively as the basis for a discussion with pupils about what they have learnt. This limits pupils’ understanding and opportunities for teacher assessment.

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GEOGRAPHY

106. Since the last inspection the co-ordinator has ensured that the most recent national guidance is used as the basis for teachers’ planning and has improved resources. However, until very recently, there has not been any opportunity for the co-ordinator to look at pupils’ work or monitor how well they are taught. Consequently, the weaknesses in mapping skills for pupils in Years 1 and 2 have not been identified or addressed. The co-ordinator now has time to manage the subject and has written an action plan that identifies suitable priorities for improving standards and pupil achievement.

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HISTORY

Abbey Community Primary School - 40 107. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are broadly average. The last inspection reported a similar position. Overall, progress is satisfactory, but not enough is expected of higher attainers. 108. By the end of Year 2, pupils have satisfactory knowledge of some important figures and events in the past. They know the value of main sources of information such as pictures, diaries and places. Pupils understand that there are different ways to find out about the past, for example, through studying the story of Florence Nightingale or comparing an old telephone with a mobile phone. They record their work carefully, but all pupils are required to do the same tasks and in many cases produce identical work. Copying is common so higher attainers have few opportunities to develop more advanced reasoning skills by explaining, in their own words, the differences they identify between past and present.

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HISTORY

109. By the end of Year 6, pupils know and understand several important periods in history, including ancient Greece, the Tudors and Britain since 1930. They understand how to build a broad and coherent view of each period by studying different facets of its life in logical order. They develop satisfactory factual knowledge and make sound progress by studying periods in increasing depth and using a greater range of lines of enquiry and sources of evidence. A local history topic in Year 5 sharpens pupils’ awareness of how human choices and circumstances create change. Opportunities for independent enquiry vary in quality between teachers, but are largely confined to higher attainers. While some pupils have completed projects that show very good achievement, and all reflect good effort, the quality of many is marred by too much copying.

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HISTORY

110. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, but range from good to unsatisfactory. Where teaching was unsatisfactory, the lesson lacked pace and stimulus, as well as clarity of direction and demand. Questioning and activities did not hold pupils’ interest and promote worthwhile learning through observation and enquiry. In other lessons, teachers managed time, relationships, resources and discussion well, so that all pupils responded positively to good opportunities to explore evidence and make judgements. For example, in Year 6, extracts from the school’s ‘logs’ for the 1940’s captured pupils’ interest; challenged them to classify information; and judge what aspects of school life had changed and what had stayed the same. Good organisation enabled pupils to move smoothly from instruction to independent activity.

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HISTORY

111. Management of the subject is satisfactory. An improved curriculum now gives all pupils better opportunities to learn the skills of historical enquiry. Improved resources and a good programme of outside visits effectively support learning. However, not enough is done to use and develop skills in literacy and ICT to support learning. Similarly, not enough use is made of assessment to track pupils’ progress and match work more accurately to their needs. The subject contributes well to pupils’ personal, moral and social development. It also supports their understanding of citizenship, raising pupils’ awareness of the choices people can make in their public and private roles. There is scope, however, to raise pupils’ cultural awareness by adapting the curriculum somewhat to reflect the ethnic make up of the school.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

112. By the end of Years 2 and Year 6, standards are below average; this reflects a similar picture to that found by the last inspection. Overall, standards have not risen sufficiently and pupils have not achieved as well as they should. However, the major disruptions to leadership since the last inspection have been significant to the delay in raising standards. This is now, rightly, one of the school’s priorities. Given the improved resources, commitment from the headteacher and co- ordinator, and planned training for staff, the capacity to improve is clearly evident. National funding has been used well to improve the poor resources identified by the last inspection. Two computer suites have been created. The co-ordinator has good subject knowledge, but in the past has not had sufficient opportunities to monitor the quality of teaching and learning; indeed much of the co-ordinator’s time was taken up attending to faults on machines. Recently,

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

however, a technician has been appointed and is taking on this role as well as providing effective support for pupils in lessons. Abbey Community Primary School - 41 113. Pupils are keen to use computers. In lessons, they are filled with enthusiasm as they learn the basic commands required to access text and graphics programs. In Years 1 and 2 they learn to log on to programs, but are still in the early stage of acquiring competence in basic skills such as using the standard keyboard and controlling the mouse. Their knowledge of control technology and how ICT is used in everyday life is weak. The work they complete provides some limited support for developing skills in literacy, for example, they select rhyming words from lists to reinforce knowledge of spelling patterns such as loaf and goat. Year 2 pupils enter their name in a text program ready for drafting some writing, but as their keyboard skills are weak, the pace

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

114. In the juniors pupils build slowly on their knowledge and skills. Better learning is evident from Year 4 onwards, especially when pupils are taught by the co-ordinator. For example, Year 4 pupils were able to access a prepared text on screen and consider a list of criteria for improving playtimes. They worked well in pairs, sharing ideas and, by using the correct controls, re- organised the criteria in line with their own preferences. In Year 5, pupils extended their knowledge of art programs and the school’s Intranet system by accessing a picture of a snail by Matisse then using this as a stimulus to design their own pictures in the same style, rotating the shapes chosen and colouring them.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

115. Some good links with mathematics were seen in a lesson for Year 6 pupils who were taught how to use spreadsheets, building on data and handling information to prepare costings for a party based on evidence of pupils’ food preferences. Overall, however, ICT is not used well to support learning across the curriculum and weaknesses in many teachers’ subject knowledge hinders progress. However, training is planned and teachers are finding the new guidance provided by the co-ordinator helpful in identifying what pupils in different year groups should be learning. Support staff make a good contribution in helping pupils with special educational needs and English as an additional language to take a full part in lessons. However, the lack of assessment procedures to enable teachers to identify pupils’ needs and track their progress is another weakness. However, this has been identified and is in the action plan to be addressed this year.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

Pupils’ use of the Internet is supervised and parental permission is obtained.

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MUSIC

116. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are broadly average. However, fewer pupils now attain above average standards than at the time of the last inspection. This is because staffing changes and the loss of visiting specialist teachers have severely reduced opportunities for higher attainers to develop more advanced instrumental skills. Recent appointments are beginning to restore these opportunities, and the school has a good group of musically competent teachers who offer different instrumental skills and traditions. All pupils make at least good progress in lessons taught by specialists and satisfactory progress in other lessons. Opportunities to perform in concerts, at school and in the community, and to work with visiting musicians enhance pupils’ achievements, which are satisfactory overall.

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MUSIC

117. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 sing a good range of songs from memory. They sing enthusiastically and with growing control of rhythm, pitch and dynamics. They use body sounds, such as clapping and tapping their legs, and un-tuned instruments to accompany their singing. In one Year 2 lesson, pupils showed good skill in interpreting music, as they appropriately matched animal characters to different pieces from ‘Carnival of the Animals. ’

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MUSIC

118. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 extend their range of songs and singing skills, but sing less enthusiastically. Many respond only half-heartedly to the opportunities provided in the weekly ‘song assembly’ and their singing lacks some technical and spiritual qualities. They listen with interest and growing appreciation to an increasing range of music, and compare Western and Asian instruments and traditions. Samples of recorded work show that, by the end of Year 6, pupils can create and perform simple percussion pieces to evoke contrasting effects or to accompany small poems. Abbey Community Primary School - 42 119. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, although lessons taught by specialists are at least good. The work of the co-ordinator is particularly effective. Her limited time is used well to ensure that she teaches each class for a half term during the year. This enables her to

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MUSIC

monitor standards and progress across the school. Non-specialist teachers are competent to develop pupils’ basic musical knowledge, understanding and skills, but are less assured in extending musical appreciation and creativity. For example, they miss opportunities to discuss musical qualities in depth; to evaluate learning; and to challenge pupils to create and perform. However, teaching is strongly supported by a well-planned work programme that carefully marries national guidance with the local education authority scheme. This ensures that pupils make satisfactory progress in all aspects of the subject. Good additional guidance enables teachers to keep a check on how well pupils are progressing. A notable and growing strength in teaching and learning is the opportunity for pupils to work across different musical cultures. For example, a good lesson in Year 5 enabled pupils to extend their understanding of different rhythmical time

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MUSIC

units and the time value of different notes by actively comparing their use in Western and Asian music.

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MUSIC

120. Management of the subject is good and is being strengthened by a developing team approach, including support from the new headteacher. The co-ordinator has done well to maintain standards through a difficult period, but her part-time role limits opportunities to monitor and improve teaching and learning. Music contributes well to pupils’ cultural development but does not do enough for their spiritual development.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

121. Pupils make satisfactory progress and achieve standards that are expected for their age. This is a similar situation to that found by the last inspection. The only exception is in relation to swimming where lessons are provided for pupils in Years 3 and 4 only. Because many lack confidence in the pool when they start lessons, it is not expected that all will be able to swim 25 metres by age 11. 122. It was not possible to see any lessons in Years 2 and 6, but during the inspection in a well- structured Year 1 dance lesson, pupils made good progress. They showed good control and co- ordination of movements, used the available space effectively and were able to describe the effect that exercise had on their bodies. In a games lesson, Year 5 pupils gained good racquet skills, responding to the teacher’s coaching by concentrating hard to improve their performance. A feature of lessons was the positive attitudes of pupils, their good behaviour and the co-operation

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

123. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and good teaching was seen in some lessons. A detailed scheme of work supports staff in preparing lessons and many have received coaching in the teaching of games skills through a national training scheme. Pupils are provided with good opportunities to develop physical skills, aided by watching either teacher or pupil demonstration prior to further practice. However they have insufficient opportunity to evaluate their own and others’ performance. Not all teachers set pupils a good example by changing into appropriate clothing or footwear.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

124. Until recently, there has been a lack of good quality large apparatus for indoor gymnastics. Significant funding has recently been made available to provide this. Both school halls provide appropriate spaces for indoor lessons, with high quality floors that are very well maintained. Outdoor facilities for games and sport are satisfactory, although better use could be made of the field. Junior pupils have few opportunities to experience outdoor adventurous activities, but extra- curricular activities, such as football and dance, enhance learning and offer occasional chances to play competitive sport.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abbey Community Primary School - 43 125. By the end of Years 2 and Year 6, standards are broadly average. This reflects an improvement since the last inspection for pupils in Years 1 and 2. Improvement stems from the new guidance for planning work in each year group and teachers’ better subject knowledge, especially of different faiths and festivals. Alongside the introduction of the new guidance, teachers use resources effectively and create stimulating displays that celebrate religious and cultural diversity.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

126. By the end of Year 2, most pupils have a sound knowledge of the Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Islamic faiths. Year 2 pupils learn about the reasons for prayer and how this affects the personal beliefs of individuals. They learn about sacred books such as the Bible, Qu’ran and Torah. In discussion, pupils could explain why Hindus worship at home and what was precious to those of the Hindu faith. In Years 3 to 6, pupils continue to learn about many of the world’s major religions. Consequently by the end of Year 6, they have sound knowledge and understanding. Pupils study the importance and place of religious buildings such as churches, temples and mosques, in worship. Through their study of world religions, they learn that moral questions rarely have clear-cut answers and thoughtfully consider their own answers to issues. They learn that many people turn to their God for help and support at critical times in their lives. The subject

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

127. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Throughout the school, pupils are taught the principles of kindness and tolerance and how these are the cornerstones of the major religions. Teachers provide suitable opportunities to learn about the different values that underpin a multicultural society. Thoughtful planning enables all groups to take a full part in lessons, which meet the wide range of interests and backgrounds of pupils. The good management of pupils is a strong feature of all teaching and a good sense of community and belonging is engendered.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

128. Leadership is satisfactory. The co-ordinator is knowledgeable and gives helpful guidance to colleagues. The school has only just received the locally agreed syllabus so the need to review guidance in line with this has rightly been identified as a priority. The co-ordinator has not had any opportunities to check on standards, teaching and learning and there is no formal system for assessing pupils to track their progress. Visits to the local church have been undertaken and there are plans to extend these to make learning more meaningful.

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