Tyldesley St George's Central CofE Primary School and Nursery

SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: November 11 th -14 th , 2002

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SCHOOL

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

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SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School category: Church of England Aided

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Darlington St., Tyldesley Manchester, Lancashire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr A Murgatroyd

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: June, 1998 St George’s Central CE Primary - 4 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

2700 Peter Sudworth Registered inspector Science; Geography; Physical education. What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements. How well are pupils taught? What should the school do to improve further? 112536 Sylvia Bullerwell Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with its parents? 29381 Ann Brangan Team inspector English; English as an additional language; History. 14991 Alan Hardwicke Team inspector Mathematics; Information and communication technology; Education inclusion. How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

21563 Graham Martin Team inspector Foundation Stage; Design and technology. How well is the school led and managed?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

15292 Jan Pollard Team inspector Special educational needs; Art and design; Music. St George’s Central CE Primary - 5 The inspection contractor was:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Chase Russell Ltd., 85 Shores Green Drive, Wincham, Cheshire CW9 6EJ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St George’s Central CE Primary - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 12

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St George’s Central CE Aided Primary School is a one and a half form entry school catering for pupils aged 3-11 years. Children begin its nursery in the September and January before they are three and attend morning or afternoon. There are 328 pupils on roll in 12 classes with an almost equal number of boys and girls, though with distinct imbalances in a few classes. Most pupils live quite close to the school. There is little movement of pupils from or into the school during the course of a school year. There are three mixed-age classes as a result of the admission number and these are organised on the basis of pupils’ ability. Almost all pupils are of white British background. One pupil has English as an additional language but speaks English fluently. Thirty-five pupils have learning or emotional difficulties, which require them to have extra support and six of these have statements of special need. Most pupils with special educational needs have learning difficulties but a

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

small number have emotional problems. Fifty-one pupils have an entitlement to free school meals, a proportion slightly lower than the national average. Attainment on entry is slightly below average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a much improved school since the last inspection with some good features. It is well led by the headteacher. The quality of teaching is good overall. Pupils make good progress in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics and standards have improved in this part of the school. Improvements are being continued and filtering up through the school. In Years 3 - 6 pupils’ progress is mainly satisfactory but it is good in some classes. The curriculum is thoughtfully provided with a good breadth of experiences for the pupils. Pupils enjoy school and many have good attitudes to their work, although a small minority of pupils displays unsatisfactory attitudes. The school provides sound value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • The quality of teaching is good overall; • The school is well led by the headteacher who has the good support of the staff in moving the school forward; • The school provides a good curriculum for all its pupils with a good range of extra- curricular activities; • The school gives very good attention to the well-being and emotional development of its pupils through its care arrangements, child protection procedures and personal, social and health education provision; • The school reflects its aims and values in its work; • The procedures for monitoring and promoting pupils’ behaviour and eliminating unacceptable behaviour are very good; • There is a secure environment that allows the pupils to flourish. St George’s Central CE Primary - 8 What could be improved • Pupils’ writing and presentational skills; • Pupils’ reading skills, particularly those of boys; • The role of subject co-ordinators in monitoring standards of work and helping other

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

teachers to develop their skills. • The organisation of the library and its use for the development of pupils’ reference skills. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made good progress since it was last inspected in June 1998. The curriculum is planned more effectively. The use of mathematics across the curriculum is much improved and there is more attention to investigative science. Work is matched more appropriately to pupils’ prior attainment in English and mathematics. Pupils now reach the expected standard in information and communication technology and physical education by age 11. There have been distinct improvements in pupils’ achievements in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 and this improvement is beginning to show through in Years 3 and 4 but boys still need to do better with their reading. The quality of teaching is much better in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 and in information and communication technology. There is better provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Record keeping and tracking pupils’ progress are developing well and

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

being used more effectively to identify individual pupils’ needs. Parents have more positive opinions about the school. The leadership of the school is more focused on improvements with a clearer educational direction and a greater unity of purpose. The staff’s roles are clearer and the governing body is working more in partnership with the school. There is still room for improvement in the way staff manage their responsibilities and in being aware of standards across the school.

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Performance in: All schools Similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

English E D E C well above average above average A B

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STANDARDS

Mathematics E D D C average below average C D

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STANDARDS

Overall, pupils’ skills and knowledge on entry to the nursery are below those expected for children of their age, particularly in speaking and listening and in their personal and social development. They make good progress in all aspects of their work. By the end of the reception year their level of attainment meets expectations for their age except in communication, language and literacy in which it is slightly below average. There has been a steady rise in pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 2 in writing and mathematics over recent years. By age 11 results have shown a slight improvement over the same period but they St George’s Central CE Primary - 9 have been inconsistent. Currently pupils’ level of attainment is broadly in line with expectations in Year 2 but the large proportion of pupils in Year 6 with emotional or learning difficulties is likely to have an adverse affect on the school’s national test results at the end of

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STANDARDS

Year 6. They are below average overall. Pupils’ speaking skills are satisfactory at the end of both Years 2 and 6. Year 2 pupils demonstrate good listening skills. They are at an expected level in Year 6. A significant feature of reading in the school is the way in which the more fluent and accurate readers throughout the school use very good expression when they read aloud. Writing and spelling standards are at the expected level in Year 2 but in Year 6 several pupils find writing difficult, although examples of very good work were seen. Handwriting is very variable in its quality. The best is well formed, in ink and of good appearance but much is in print with insufficient attention to its quality. In mathematics pupils’ levels of attainment are in line with expectations at ages seven and 11. A large percentage of the pupils in Year 2 and most 11-year-olds are on target to reach the expectations in science. Pupils’ attainment in other subjects of the curriculum meets the

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STANDARDS

expected standard by age seven and 11. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress towards the targets in their individual educational plans. The school met its targets in 2002. Pupils achieve well in Years 1 and 2 and soundly in Years 3 to 6.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils enjoy school and are interested in what the school provides. They are generally courteous and most try hard with their work.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Satisfactory overall. Many children behave well but several pupils have emotional difficulties, which affect their progress and can affect the pace of lessons. Pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory when they are around the school and at play.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils’ personal development is satisfactory. There is very good provision for their personal, social and health education. Pupils do not show a lot of initiative in lessons. Relationships are satisfactory amongst the pupils overall.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Satisfactory; slightly better than the national average.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Good Good 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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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

The teaching of English and mathematics, including literacy and numeracy, is good. In these subjects teachers match the work effectively to pupils’ prior attainment and they cater for more able pupils well. Lessons are researched and prepared well and have a clear structure. Good use is made of resources in lessons, for example individual pupil white boards in mathematics so that all pupils can respond with an answer. In information and communication technology the good provision of computers enables all pupils to take an active part in the lessons. The good use of resources helps with explanations and pupils’ understanding of the lesson St George’s Central CE Primary - 10 content. The pace of lessons is usually appropriate and sometimes good. Teachers usually manage the pupils well and routines are well established. Teachers show patience and understanding when pupils’ experience difficulties and do not understand. They try and

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

encourage pupils and deal sensitively when mistakes occur or when pupils become too self- critical about their efforts. Sometimes teachers do not draw information enough from pupils through direct questioning and discussion and too much is directed by the teacher. In some lessons too much use is made of worksheets, which reduces the amount of thinking the pupils need to do. Appropriate teaching is given to pupils with special educational needs. Teachers use pupils’ records satisfactorily to plan what individuals are to learn next.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum is good. It is well organised and pupils have good opportunities to engage in a range of experiences. There is good provision for extra-curricular activities including residential visits.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory. The individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs are well written and enable the pupils to make sound progress and overcome some of their difficulties

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Only one pupil has English as an additional language and good progress is being made. The pupil no longer needs extra help and speaks fluent English.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Satisfactory provision is made for pupils’ personal development. Good provision is made for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Staff take a sincere personal interest in the pupils. Child protection arrangements are very good. All staff take good care of the pupils and provide a secure environment. Record keeping systems are satisfactory. The school works well with its parents but some parents do not hear their children read regularly enough at home. Communication with parents is good and all parents responding to the questionnaire state they are comfortable about approaching the school with any concerns or questions.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher is providing good leadership and leads the staff well. She has a good working partnership with the deputy head. The work of the subject co-ordinators is sound but there is scope for further development in their roles.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their The governors have supported the school well over recent times and it is well led by its chair. The governing body fulfils St George’s Central CE Primary - 11 responsibilities most statutory responsibilities.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school makes good use of national test data and the tracking of pupils’ progress. The school development plan is regularly reviewed at governing body meetings.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources The school makes good use of its finances and links it carefully to the school development plan. The allocation of resources to subject leaders could be managed more strategically.

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Aspect Comment

The school has an adequate number of staff and of learning resources and good accommodation. It has sound principles for obtaining best value when making purchases. The school provides sound value for money.

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improved

• Their children like school, work hard and make good progress; • Pupils get the right amount of homework; • They are comfortable about approaching the school with questions or problems; • The school is well led and managed; • Their children are developing maturity and responsibility. A significant minority of parents responding to the questionnaire state that • Behaviour can be unsatisfactory; • They are not kept well informed about how their children are getting on; • The school does not work closely with parents; • The school does not provide an interesting range of activities outside lessons.

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improved

The inspection team agrees with most of the parents’ positive views. Progress is good in Years 1 and 2 and sound in the main in Years 3 - 6. Behaviour is satisfactory. Pupils develop satisfactory levels of maturity and responsibility in the main. The school works closely with parents and there is no evidence that parents are not kept well enough informed about their children’s progress. There are regular parents’ evenings and parents can discuss their children’s progress at any time by arrangement. There is a good range of activities out of lessons but these are mainly for the juniors. St George’s Central CE Primary - 12

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 The children’s skills and knowledge on entry to the nursery are below those expected for children of their age, particularly in speaking and listening and in their personal and social development. They are also below expectations in their knowledge of the world, in their mathematical development and in their physical and creative skills. The teachers and the assistants work well together and emphasise to the children the need to play and work together and, as a result, they make good progress throughout the Foundation Stage in all areas of their work. By the time they are ready to start Year 1, a small number of the children are working at levels above those expected. The majority has reached the expected level in most aspects of learning, although it is still a little below average in communication, language and literacy, despite the good progress made. They make particularly good progress in their social development, as they are encouraged to join in, to

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

play and work together co-operatively and to do things for themselves. Equally they make especially good progress in their speaking and listening skills through the imaginative role- play activities provided which require them to speak and to listen. They develop an interest in books and take home books to share with parents and carers and this extends their work in school. They learn to form letters correctly and remember the sounds that they make.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2 The children make good progress in mathematics through the many practical activities provided. They develop an increasing knowledge and understanding of the world through observation of the changing seasons. They widen the range of their creative skills through the good provision of opportunities in art and music. The children develop correct techniques for managing a range of writing and craft tools and in this way they develop control of more precise physical movements. Their enjoyment of wheeled toys outside and activities in the hall, all of which involve larger body movements, facilitate good progress in their physical development.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3 Pupils achieve well overall in Years 1 and 2. There has been a steady rise in pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics over recent years and this improvement is beginning to show through in Years 3 and 4 but there is still the need for improvement in boys’ reading. In the most recent national tests, the girls did better than girls nationally in reading and writing, although the boys did less well than boys nationally. Over time the boys have been doing as well as boys nationally in writing but much less well in reading. On average Year 2 girls are performing better than girls nationally in mathematics, and better than the school’s boys who just trail the national average for boys. In 2002 the proportion of Year 2 pupils who reached the expected level and above was average in reading, writing and mathematics but was below average in teacher assessments in science.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

Against similar schools results were above average in reading and mathematics and well above in writing.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4 In the last three years, Year 6 boys have not done as well as the girls in English but the gap between their respective average performances is narrower than that seen nationally. Neither does as well as boys and girls nationally in this subject. The school’s boys are doing much better on average than the school’s girls in mathematics by about a term’s progress. There has been little difference in science, although overall results on average have been below the national average. The pupils’ results have bounced about a little over the last few years in nationally tested subjects at age 11 but overall there has been a slight improvement. St George’s Central CE Primary - 13 5 Currently pupils’ level of attainment in English is broadly in line with expectations in Year 2. They make good progress in both Years 1 and 2. Their speaking skills are satisfactory and their listening skills good. The majority of pupils are likely to reach the

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

expected standard in reading. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 generally make sound progress in English, although there is some inconsistency. They make good progress in the setted classes. The large proportion of pupils in Year 6 with emotional or learning difficulties is likely to have an adverse affect on the school’s national test results at the end of the school year. Their speaking and listening skills are at an expected level by age 11. Several Year 6 pupils find reading difficult and the end of year results are likely to be below average. Pupils by age 11 understand the use of a glossary, index and contents but pupils’ reference skills are under developed and several Year 6 pupils are slow when using a dictionary. A significant feature of reading throughout the school is the way in which the more fluent and accurate readers use very good expression, emphasise key words and use good intonation

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6 Pupils’ attainment in writing and spelling reaches a sound level with the current Year 2 pupils. It is not so consistent in Year 6 where the difficulties apparent in reading are reflected again in the quality of writing. Many 11-year-olds write confidently in sentences, although a large proportion of them do not use capital letters for proper nouns. Many understand the concept of a paragraph and speech marks but they often forget to start a new line when someone else speaks. Spelling is at a below average level in many classes. Handwriting is very variable in its quality. The best is well formed, in ink and of good appearance but much is in print with insufficient attention to its quality.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7 In mathematics pupils’ levels of attainment are in line with expectations at ages seven and 11. Pupils make good progress in Years 1 and 2 and satisfactory progress in Years 3 to 6. Whilst girls have recently been outperforming the boys in the subject by age seven, the boys have usually caught up by age 11 and overtake the girls. No obvious differences could be found in their respective performances during the inspection. By Year 2 pupils solve simple number problems selecting addition or subtraction methods as necessary. By Year 6 most pupils understand decimals, fractions and percentages, use the correct mathematical vocabulary and understand metric measures and equivalence. The good achievement of pupils in Years 1 and 2 in the subject in recent years continues. Pupils’ achievements in Years 3 – 6 are sound overall.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8 A large percentage of the pupils in Year 2 are on target to reach the expectations in science and many pupils in Year 6. However, results are not expected to be as high by age 11 as last year. Results then were below the national average, despite the fact that most reached the expected level, because few reached the higher level.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9 Pupils’ attainment in other subjects of the curriculum meets the expected standard by age seven and 11 and pupils achieve soundly. Observations made in physical education were restricted to games because of the curriculum organisation.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10 Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress towards the targets in their individual educational plans. Pupils have clear, realistic targets and achieve these over time. Pupils are withdrawn from class to work individually or in small groups with learning support assistants or the local authority support staff. These pupils focus on their tasks. Pupils who have behavioural difficulties make satisfactory progress and achieve their targets because the adults work hard to help them to change their attitudes and to adopt more acceptable behaviour. Members of staff are caring and form positive relationships with the pupils. The learning support assistants make a good contribution to the pupils’ learning. Higher attaining pupils make good progress because of the arrangements made for them, particularly in English and mathematics in which ability groups are arranged within the set.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

St George’s Central CE Primary - 14 The one pupil with English as an additional language has made good progress in the acquisition of English, no longer needs external support and speaks English competently.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11 Most pupils’ attitudes to school and to learning are good. This is an improvement since the previous inspection when they were satisfactory. Pupils enjoy school, confirming parents’ views, and are interested in what the school provides for them. Most pupils arrive at school on time and settle quickly during registration. When pupils are clear about what is expected of them in lessons they respond to teachers’ good management skills and listen attentively.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12 Pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory, overall. They respond well to the established school routines, as in the dining room when pupils of all ages act sensibly when choosing and collecting their lunch. Behaviour in lessons is inconsistent. Most pupils behave well and are generally courteous. However, some pupils do not always give their full attention to the teacher. They interrupt lessons by their conduct or lack of attention or do not respond to requests quickly enough. Such behaviour slows the pace of learning. Boisterous behaviour, reported during the previous inspection due to poor facilities and lack of equipment, has diminished. Pupils’ behaviour out of lessons and at play is satisfactory and the school would like to improve pupils’ behaviour further by helping them to become more self-disciplined. Pupils know what to do if bullying, or oppressive behaviour, occur and know teachers will

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

deal with it. There were no exclusions in the past year.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13 Pupils’ personal development and relationships are satisfactory, overall. Pupils develop trust; respect for others’ feelings and acquire a growing awareness of other cultures. The personal, social and health education programme helps pupils’ understanding of good citizenship. For the most part, pupils work co-operatively during group activities in lessons. They treat property with care. Teachers develop pupils’ self-esteem and confidence by giving them responsibilities, such as taking registers to the office. Year 6 pupils are now given more responsibility and help with routines at lunchtime, such as answering the telephone or helping as ‘play leaders’ with younger children, which they do sensibly and well. However, pupils show only a limited amount of independence in their own learning and show limited personal initiative in lessons, sometimes because they are given relatively few opportunities to do so.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14 Pupils’ attendance dropped to well below average after moving into the new school building. However, this has improved steadily in the last three years and is now in line with the national average, as it was at the previous inspection. Unauthorised absence has risen and is above the national average due to parents not informing school with a valid reason for absence. Authorised absence is for medical reasons but a growing number of parents are taking their children on holiday during term time. Most pupils arrive at school on time.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

15 During the course of the inspection 64 lessons were observed. Of these, six were very good, 29 were good, 27 were satisfactory and two were unsatisfactory. Overall the quality of teaching is good. It is good in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 and satisfactory overall in Years 3 to 6 and good in some of the junior classes. The teaching of literacy and numeracy is good throughout the school. There is no significant difference overall in the quality of teaching of other subjects. The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection. St George’s Central CE Primary - 15 16 Lessons are prepared well both in the written format and in the preparation of resources to help pupils’ understanding. In literacy and numeracy lessons teachers plan the work well for pupils’ of different prior attainment, matching it well to their capabilities. As a result pupils enjoy these lessons because they are appropriately challenged and interested.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

At the beginning of lessons teachers revise previous work quickly and check the pupils’ retention of the knowledge taught and share the content of new lessons in language that the pupils can understand. Most lessons have a clear structure.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

17 Good use is made of resources in lessons. In mathematics lessons teachers use individual pupil white boards so that all can respond with an answer and this ensures that all pupils are thinking. On occasion better use could be made of the hundred square to help pupils see the pattern and sequence of numbers, particularly with younger pupils. In science a range of measuring equipment challenges pupils to choose the most appropriate piece for the task in hand. Pupils enjoy such opportunities to work practically and they work with interest. However, in one lesson the teacher did not ensure the pupils could read the gradations correctly before the activity began and some pupils were making errors. Good use is made of videos in history, for example to help pupils understand child labour in the Victorian era. This use helps to stimulate the children’s interest and helps them to empathise with the life of children in years past. Teachers sometimes bring artefacts from

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

home to promote pupils’ interest, as in science and history lessons, and this has a positive effect on pupils’ levels of interest in their learning. In physical education teachers make effective use of the small equipment to develop pupils’ skills in the subject so that all are kept active and can develop their skills. Teachers make good use of this equipment to teach correct techniques, such as the correct way to hold a racquet and to pass a rugby ball. The good use of resources helps significantly with explanations and pupils’ understanding of the lesson content.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

18 Teachers make effective use of correct subject terminology in different subjects so that pupils can assimilate it and then use it for themselves. In mathematics for example, teachers use such terms as ‘mode’, ‘tally’ and ‘range’ when dealing with statistics. In English when discussing books, they refer to ‘illustrator’, ‘author’ and ‘narrator’ and refer to ‘characters’ and the ‘setting’. In history they talk about ‘lines of discovery’ and ‘icon’ and ‘font’ in information and communication technology. Such good use promotes pupils’ general vocabulary and growing maturity in speech. In many lessons teachers research the content well so they can deal with pupils’ questions as they arise and further pupils’ knowledge, thus sustaining pupils’ interest in the work.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

19 The pace of lessons is usually appropriate and sometimes good. In some lessons teachers give pupils time warnings that prompt them to draw their work to a conclusion before the lesson is pulled together. Teachers usually use the conclusion to lessons well, either to assess the progress the pupils have made and to check their understanding or to take learning on a stage further. In a very good Year 3/4 lesson when larger numbers were being used to further pupils’ knowledge of odd and even numbers, the teacher used the final part of the lesson to discuss how what they had learned could be used to check their answers in addition sums. This gave added purpose to the lesson. During the activities teachers sometimes have a focused group to work with or they monitor and discuss the progress individuals and groups are making, picking up on errors and helping through discussion and this works well. Teaching assistants are used appropriately when pupils

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

begin work but sometimes they are too passive during the introduction and they do not encourage the less able pupils enough to contribute answers.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20 Teachers usually manage the pupils effectively and routines are firmly established. They insist that the class conventions are followed when answering questions. Most teachers have good relationships with their pupils and use praise effectively to promote learning and to boost pupils’ confidence. In a lower Key Stage 2 mathematics lesson, for St George’s Central CE Primary - 16 example when jumping forwards and backwards in three’s and four’s with the teacher using a patterned stick, the teacher remarked ‘Everyone was looking at my stick. Well done.’ Teachers generally show patience and understanding when pupils experience difficulties and do not understand. They try and encourage pupils and often deal sensitively when mistakes occur or when pupils become too self-critical about their efforts. In a Year 1 mathematics lesson when a pupil wrote 41 for 14 the teacher said ‘We all make mistakes’

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

and in a Year 5 art lesson pupils were told that artists didn’t get their work right first time. Occasionally there is a strained relationship with the pupils in a class. The lesson is punctuated by interruptions, which affect the pace and progress that the pupils make. The content is not fulfilled.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

21 The quality of questioning is usually satisfactory particularly when reviewing previous work but teachers sometimes do not draw information enough from pupils through direct questioning and discussion and too much is directed by the teacher. Questioning can sometimes be too general and pupils can remain passive for much of a lesson because they have not been asked a question. Frequently it is the same pupils who answer many of the questions.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22 Teachers make good use of modern technical equipment in several lessons. In science they use the overhead projector to show outlines of forcemeters and discuss how they work. They use prepared transparencies in English, mathematics and science effectively to explain teaching points or to project prepared texts, which speeds up the pace of lessons. Computers are used well in information and communication technology lessons. They are sometimes used well in other lessons as when they make graphs in science. Teachers make satisfactory use of English across the curriculum but in some lessons too much use is made of worksheets, which reduces the amount of thinking the pupils need to do.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

23 The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is sound overall. It is good for more able pupils in mathematics and English because the work is well matched to their needs. All pupils are fully included in lessons. Teachers make satisfactory use of their knowledge about pupils in planning lessons overall but good use in mathematics and English.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

24 The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum, and all statutory requirements are met. The quality and range of learning opportunities are good throughout the school, and they meet the interests, aptitudes and particular needs of pupils of all abilities, including those with special educational needs. The quality and range of learning opportunities for children in the nursery and reception are good. The one pupil for whom English is an additional language has been appropriately catered for and no longer needs special help. This overall picture of the curriculum represents an improvement since the last inspection, when the curriculum was found to be satisfactory overall, but with some imbalance in mathematics, science and information and communication technology.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

25 The curriculum for pupils in Years 1 to 6 is good. The school has adopted national guidelines for all subjects, and there are opportunities throughout the school for pupils to take part in a wide range of interesting activities. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies have been successfully introduced, and carefully implemented. Teachers have worked hard in adapting them to the needs of their pupils. This has resulted in a more consistent approach to teaching, and is having a positive effect on standards achieved, particularly in mathematics. St George’s Central CE Primary - 17 26 Teachers’ planning is generally good. They are good at identifying what they want pupils to learn, and they often share this information with their pupils, so that they understand what the object of the lesson is. In the better taught lessons seen during the inspection, teachers also spent time at the end of the lesson checking on what pupils had

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

learnt. In a Year 6 mathematics lesson, for example, the teacher asked the pupils to explain to the class what they had discovered about the diagonals of two-dimensional shapes. She skillfully questioned pupils, putting them on the spot to explain their ideas, at the same time checking back to what she wanted them to learn.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

27 All pupils are given appropriate access to all aspects of the curriculum. Opportunities are available for all to continue their learning at the right levels, by acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge. Where pupils need particular support, for instance in literacy, this is provided effectively. Individual needs are met by well planned tasks and the school recognises the strengths of individual pupils. In some classes, however, there is a need to organise some aspects of the curriculum better. Where pupils leave the classroom, for instance for instrumental music lessons, the timing of these sessions needs more careful planning. As some pupils miss the same class lessons each week, their entitlement to the full range of work is affected. When they return to class, teachers do not always provide the means for them to catch up with the work of the class.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

28 A good range of clubs and out of school activities enrich the school’s basic curriculum. During the past year these have included choir and recorder club, games club, calligraphy, football and rugby coaching, and athletics and swimming activities at different times of the year. There is an annual residential visit to the Lake District, and pupils take part in a range of activities at, and organised by, the Wigan Arts Centre. The school made very good use of the services of an artist in residence, and pupils produced a series of high-quality wall- hangings, which are effectively displayed in the hall. During the inspection a wide variety of after school clubs was observed. For instance, pupils taking part in the recorder club enthusiastically joined in familiar tunes, and were developing their musical skills well. Such activities are well supported by pupils, and make good use of the varied skills and interests

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

29 There is very good provision in the school for the development of pupils’ personal, social and health education, including sex education and drugs awareness. There is a clear policy, which includes effective provision for awareness of citizenship issues. Personal, social and health education lessons are used well to share thoughts and concerns, and to build self-esteem. Good opportunities are also taken to incorporate aspects of personal, social and health education into other lessons, such as the consideration of healthy eating issues in science. Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility around the school. Older pupils, for instance, act as ‘play leaders’ with the younger children, and prefects are given responsibilities such as answering the telephone.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

30 There are good links with the local community, which make worthwhile contributions to pupils’ learning. Many of these links come about through the school’s close association with the church. Pupils take part in a range of church activities, such as singing carols at local homes for the elderly, and the elderly come in to school, for instance to talk about life during the second world war. The local Citizenship Centre provides a range of activities and support, and the Community Police Officer comes to school regularly to talk about road safety and other issues. The school has good links with Wigan Rugby Club, and pupils from Years 2 and 5 have taken part in sports activities with them. The local library is regularly used to support learning and develop pupils’ interest in books. St George’s Central CE Primary - 18 31 Links with partner institutions are good. The school is an Initial Teacher Training

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

partner with two colleges, and the regular presence of students enriches the life of the school. Year 6 pupils visit the local secondary school, and working relationships are good.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

32 The school has found it difficult to develop links with local industry, as many traditional firms have closed down, and the town has become largely a commuter district. They are attempting to build links with local branches of national shops and restaurants, but so far with limited success.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

33 The school makes satisfactory provision for the educational inclusion of all its pupils. During the inspection many examples were seen of teachers ensuring that all their pupils were drawn into activities, and provided with work which was right for their level of understanding. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good, and they are effectively included in all aspects of the life of the school. The Christian ethos of the school, which values the individual contribution of all, is well reflected in its day-to-day life.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

34 The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. This is an improvement since the last inspection. The curriculum is enriched by this provision. Sometimes pupils have experiences that have moral, social cultural and spiritual implications together. The effectiveness of the provision is apparent through the majority of pupils’ attitudes, relationships and behaviour. The school has a strong and caring ethos, which is rooted in Christian faith as stated in the mission statement.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

35 The provision for spiritual development is good. Pupils take part in acts of collective worship that offer them a wide range of opportunities for reflection. At the time of inspection, the junior pupils considered issues related to peace, reflecting on a range of questions related to war and remembrance. Younger pupils were studying festivals of light and the collective worship supports this through the theme of Divali. A good example of the curriculum supporting spirituality was seen with a Year 6 group of pupils who listened intently to an extract of Gregorian chant during their music lesson and then expressed how they felt about it. The parish church is used as a place of worship as well as a resource for history as is shown in a current display. The vicar regularly supports the school for collective worship and for the services the school holds in the church.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

36 The provision for moral development is good. As a result, pupils know the difference between right and wrong. They are given clear messages about standards and expectations for their behaviour and the staff provide good examples for them to copy. The pupils have devised their own class rules and these make clear how they expect class members to behave on a daily basis. There is a clear rewards and sanction system in place and pupils enjoy the star system. Pupils are encouraged to consider their responsibility for others and the prefects help to look after the younger pupils by being play leaders. The pupils are encouraged to think of others outside the school and recently supported the Poppy appeal as part of their collective worship. There are effective policies in place to combat aggressive behaviour and racism and these are also well supported through circle time discussions.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

37 Provision for social development is good. Staff encourage pupils to be well mannered and most pupils follow the usual conventions. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to work together in different groupings, to share equipment, space and to collaborate with each other and they respond well. It is evident from the way the pupils move round the school and the way the majority behave in the classrooms that they enjoy a secure and caring environment which enables them to fulfil their learning potential. Pupils play well together in the playground and the younger pupils also show that they can share and take turns. There are opportunities for pupils to take responsibility by undertaking jobs, such as carrying, but they have limited opportunities to learn independently. Book week gives older pupils the opportunity to tell stories to younger pupils. Visits to the arts centre and visitors to

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

St George’s Central CE Primary - 19 school give pupils additional opportunities to develop their social skills. A residential visit to the Lake District also gives both spiritual and social experiences.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

38 The provision for cultural development is also good. The school has a well thought out policy that includes issues across the curriculum. The school action plan has clearly stated actions and inspection evidence shows that these are being fulfilled. Pupils have opportunities to consider how other people live and have visitors from different cultural backgrounds, for example Ghana and Japan. The school has had an African music day. The vicar shares his experiences from South Africa with the pupils. The curriculum makes a good contribution to pupils’ cultural awareness through religious education, and learning about world faiths, for example, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam. They celebrate Chinese New Year and Divali, as well as having a Christingle service. Pupils learn about their own local culture also and good use is made of the local arts centre and visits to the theatre. Pupils are given the opportunity to learn musical instruments, for example clarinet and saxophone

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

through peripatetic teachers and with their links with the high school. The school environment is used effectively for cultural development and pupils are shown aspects of different cultures in displays for example, African drums and multi-ethnic puppets. A local Baton bearer for the Olympic games from an ethnic minority came to the school. All of which presents important messages and positive role images of people from other ethnic groups including those living in this country.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39 The school cares very well for pupils’ personal and emotional well-being and gives a high priority to the health, safety and general welfare of pupils. The school recently received a Healthy School Award recognising their work in the area of pupils’ personal, social and health education. The head teacher is designated responsibility for child protection issues. Staff are vigilant in these matters, well trained and fully aware of the procedures to be followed. The school caretaker is responsible for health and safety in school and carries out regular audits, does risk assessment, liaises with staff and governors and keeps up to date records. There are appropriate procedures in place for administering medication and for dealing with accidents. Two members of staff hold certificates in first-aid. The school nurse visits weekly and is available for parents and pupils. Pupils are nurtured within a safe and

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40 Good improvement has been made in the procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development, since the previous inspection. A policy for attendance and the unity of pupils on one site has removed the inconsistency in attendance procedures. These are now good and linked to the ongoing ‘Reach for the Stars’ reward system when individuals and classes receive stars if they attend for a full week. School analysis shows holidays account for almost half of all absence and the school will need the continuing support of all parents to improve in this area. Very good procedures are now in place to improve behaviour, including an agreed behaviour policy, anti-bullying guidelines, and a structured programme for personal social and health education. Displays of class and school rules, star charts and the ‘Golden Book’ awards are given high focus in school and used to motivate pupils to improve attitude, behaviour and effort. The head teacher is

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

personally counselling groups of pupils to resolve conflicts and has support of outside specialist agencies. Written records are kept for personal and social development of children in the Foundation Stage and planned for other year groups. A school council is also planned to give pupils the opportunity to contribute their views on what happens in school.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41 Teachers predict and track pupils’ progress effectively throughout the school in mathematics and English and also keep detailed records in these subjects and in the different aspects of English representing good progress since the last inspection. Good St George’s Central CE Primary - 20 records are also kept in science and information and communication technology. Teachers keep records of pupils’ letter sound knowledge and pupils’ knowledge of the most frequently used words. Teachers make good use of the records to plan their work in mathematics and English but in other subjects there is scope for further development. Teachers maintain good records of pupils with special educational needs.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42 The marking policy ‘Responding to Children’s Work’ is not applied consistently across the school. Whilst all teachers are positive in recognising effort, there is inconsistency in the way teachers respond to the content and in helping the pupils to become aware of what they need to do to improve. There is also inconsistency in the approach to helping the pupils to make progress in spelling drawn from the mistakes they make in their work.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43 The school analyses the results of pupils’ results in the national tests with the help of the Local Education Authority by gender and by the pupils’ responses to different questions to evaluate which aspects of work pupils did well on and also which areas the pupils found difficult. The results of such analyses are put to good use in helping the school’s overall performance.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

44 Parents have positive views about the school. All parents who expressed an opinion find the staff approachable. Most say their children enjoy school, are expected to work hard, make progress and are helped to become mature through the good teaching and organisation in school. Inspectors agree with parents’ views that are much more positive than at the time of the previous inspection.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

45 A minority of parents have concerns about behaviour, extra-curricular activities, staff working closely with them and keeping them informed on progress and to a lesser extent homework. Inspection findings show that behaviour is satisfactory and the school is working hard to improve further this aspect of pupils’ development with the help of parents. The provision of extra-curricular activities is good; the use of homework is satisfactory and information on progress is good, overall.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46 Parents receive good quality information, although the governors’ annual report to parents has some minor omissions. Annual written reports on pupils’ progress are good. They generally tell parents what children can and cannot do and include targets for improvement, but the quality of them does vary from class to class. They include information on attendance and evaluate pupils’ personal development. The results of the standard assessment test results (SATs) are given to Year 2 and 6 parents, however no indication of National Curriculum levels is included in the reports of other pupils. Teachers meet each term with parents to discuss pupils’ work and progress. Parents are well informed on procedures within school and events in the school calendar through the monthly newsletters. The school has held information evenings for national tests, literacy, numeracy, design and technology and computer work to give parents the opportunity to learn about important parts

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

of the curriculum. Parents of nursery and reception children have a good induction programme, including opportunities to work on the SHARE and INSPIRE initiatives, which give them an awareness of early literacy and numeracy skills and how to help their children at home. Despite the school’s effort, some parents have not taken up these opportunities so do not feel well informed.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47 Parents make a satisfactory contribution to the work of the school. A small number of volunteers help in school, listening to children read or giving much valued support to the work of teachers. The Parents Friends and Teachers’ Association organises social and fund-raising events and raises about £3000 a year to provide extra resources for teaching St George’s Central CE Primary - 21 and learning, such as funding a computer or paying for an African dance specialist to work with children. Most parents have signed an agreement to work in partnership with the school and help with homework.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48 The school is well led by an effective and dedicated headteacher and this aspect of the school’s work is significantly improved since the last inspection. The headteacher and deputy headteacher work well together and they have established a good school ethos based firmly on Christian principles of care and concern for others. The positive ethos of the school promotes good learning.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49 The headteacher’s leadership has moved the school forward well since two schools were amalgamated and moved on to a new site in 2000. The school now has a clear educational direction and a greater sense of purpose as a result of the effective leadership of the headteacher and the supportive management of the governing body. The roles of staff are clearly defined so that all know that they are each expected to make a specific contribution to the school’s improvement. However, the work of staff has not yet had a full impact on raising standards and there is still work to be done to develop the management roles of teachers.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50 Working relationships within the school are better than at the time of the last inspection. Parents’ opinions of the school have also been raised because of the better teamwork in the school and the clear commitment that staff have for providing for the needs of pupils.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51 The work to monitor the effectiveness of teachers and to share good practice to improve teaching is having a positive effect on the performance of the school. The headteacher uses assessment analysis well to evaluate the work of the school, as when results are compared of pupils of different ages in the same class. The impetus to improve teaching and learning is successful, as evidenced by the overall good teaching seen throughout the school, and the resulting good learning overall. However, the full impact of this work has not yet filtered through to pupils’ learning in Years 3 to 6, where learning remains satisfactory in the main. Through her commitment to the school, her high profile around the school and her caring support for teachers, pupils and families, the headteacher has established a good atmosphere for learning. Evidence of this was seen in the very good relationships between pupils and staff and the good ethos for learning seen in most

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52 The good support given by the deputy headteacher has helped the school to improve since the last inspection. The work of the deputy has a good influence on the school, as evidenced in the improvement in provision for the Foundation Stage and the development of the infants’ curriculum. Similarly, the recent appointment of a team leader for the juniors is influencing teaching and learning positively. There has been satisfactory progress in the development of the roles of subject leaders and other key members of the management team but this effort needs to continue so that they influence standards of work more strongly. The responsibilities of each teacher involved in school improvement are not yet sufficiently clearly defined and linked effectively to the aspirations of the school development plan. Because of the need to clarify how the school can be improved by delegating responsibility to the management team and monitoring their work, the overall management of the school is

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

satisfactory, an improvement since the last inspection. St George’s Central CE Primary - 22 53 The work of the governors is also satisfactory. The chair of governors plays an active role in the life of the school and he leads the governors well. The governing body is very supportive of the school and has been actively involved in monitoring improvement since the last inspection. The good monitoring work of the governors has enabled the governing body to be kept well informed about the progress the school has made to meet the targets set in response to the areas for improvement since the last inspection. Governors are now more knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and weaknesses and how the school is responding to its own evaluation of performance. The governors fulfill their statutory obligations appropriately, checking that the information they provide as part of their statutory responsibilities is accurate and clear. However, some aspects of the annual report to

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

parents could be improved so that it is a more informative, readable and parent-friendly record of the work of the governors.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54 Overall, the combined efforts of staff and governors in evaluating the school and monitoring its improvement have had a satisfactory impact on school improvement. Advisers from the Local Education Authority have supported staff and governors well in this work. For example, the monitoring, evaluation and development of teaching have encouraged teachers to recognise and share effective planning and better teaching. The school needs to continue this work so that the frequency of good and better teaching is greater.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55 Day-to-day financial administration is good. There are effective systems for tracking spending and to ensure that the school receives best value for money. Information technology is used well to make school administration more manageable and efficient. The financial information provided to the governors gives them sufficient detail for them to monitor the school’s financial position.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56 The school’s priorities for improvement are appropriate. The school development plan shows a clear commitment to improving teaching and learning to help standards to rise. There are also effective improvement plans for each stage of education, including the Foundation Stage. The systems put in place with which to monitor school improvement have proved to be an effective tool in the school’s self-evaluation process. The school is now in a position to refocus its efforts on key areas of school improvement, specifically those that will take the school forward in response to this inspection report. The staff and governors have recognised how far they have come since the previous inspection and now have a shared commitment to accelerating that improvement. To do this, they should build on the strengths of the school, seek ways to share effective practice and make teaching consistently good to promote better learning and higher standards. The role of the

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

management team and subject leaders is crucial to this improvement.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57 The work of the non-teaching staff makes a good contribution to the school. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to the learning of the pupils, supporting the work of the teachers well. The administrator working in the school office is efficient and has a strong commitment to helping the school to run smoothly. So, too, do the caretaker and cleaning staff, who look after the building with pride. Lunchtime assistants show a good level of care for the pupils and they make a satisfactory contribution to the very good relationships found in the school.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58 The school has implemented good systems to address appraisal and the performance management of the teaching staff. The work of the teaching staff has been monitored and evaluated by the appropriate team leader and areas of development identified to improve teaching and learning. This is starting to influence positively the quality of teaching. St George’s Central CE Primary - 23 59 The management of special educational needs is satisfactory overall. The school is now implementing the new Code of Practice. A new draft policy has been written and most of the individual education plans now are designed to reflect the current stages of need. The administration is undertaken well and there is a clear awareness of how the school intends to develop the provision further and continue to improve standards. Reviews of pupils’ achievements are undertaken each term and new targets set as appropriate. Parents are

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

kept fully informed and have a copy of their child’s individual education plan. They are welcomed to the school as there is an ‘open door’ policy. The school has a very caring approach. Monitoring is partially in place. The co-ordinator undertakes some monitoring, for example, the quality of the individual education plans is checked and the match of work for the pupils. The work undertaken by learning assistants is monitored but not that of the teaching staff. There is a good relationship with the local education authority’s support staff who provide appropriate support.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60 The school has sufficient teachers and other staff, who are appropriately experienced and qualified to meet the needs of the curriculum. Extra funds have been allocated to staff training and there has been a wide-ranging programme of in-service training, in line with the provisions of the school development plan. Procedures for the induction of new members of staff and newly qualified teachers are good, although there have been comparatively few staff changes in the last two years.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61 Most subjects of the curriculum are adequately resourced with many good features. The computer suite enhances the learning for information and communication technology across both key stages. Resources for music, physical education, science and literacy are good, although money needs to be spent on new library books. Since the previous report resources to support teaching and learning of English, information and communication technology, physical education and multi-cultural education have improved considerably.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62 The accommodation is good for delivering the National Curriculum. The building is in good condition as it was opened only four years ago. This is an improvement since the last inspection when the school was on two sites and in old buildings. It is clean and well looked after. The resource areas are well used for small group support work as well as art and design activities. However, storage for resources is limited and this reduces the area that can be used for pupils’ activities in the hall and resource areas. The displays around the school make an attractive and positive environment for the pupils. Classrooms are of an adequate size for the number of pupils in the classes. The library is under used and deprives pupils of independent research and an understanding of how books are classified. There is a satisfactory information and communication technology suite that is well used on a regular basis. The hall is well used for physical education, dining, collective worship and

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

assemblies. The outside provision is good. The playground area is well surfaced and used with care. There is a field for games. Cloakroom space for coats and bags, although cramped is well managed, kept neat and tidy as prefects oversee these areas at play times. The school has good disabled access and facilities and meets the current legislation. St George’s Central CE Primary - 24

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

63 The school has made good progress since the last inspection. In order to continue the improvements being made the headteacher, staff and governors should:

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Take steps to improve the quality and accuracy of pupils’ writing and their general

p.24

presentation skills by:

a) making less use of worksheets and giving pupils more opportunities to write in their own words; b) improving the level of pupils’ spelling; c) teaching handwriting more effectively and be more insistent and demanding in presentation skills; d) using marking more effectively to improve pupils’ future work; e) ensuring teachers interpret the marking policy consistently. (Paras 6, 42, 95, 99, 103, 144 )

p.24

presentation skills by:

• Improve pupils’ reading skills, particularly those of boys by; a) developing a better book culture in the school and displaying books to better effect; b) encouraging parents to hear their children read on a more regular basis; c) encouraging the pupils to use the local library more regularly; d) sharing pupils’ views of books by the same author which pupils have read; e) involving the school’s library service more effectively in stimulating good reading habits; f) sharing and exchanging in classes pupils’ own favourite books. (Paras 3, 5, 6, 95, 101 )

p.24

presentation skills by:

• Develop the role of subject co-ordinators in monitoring standards of work and

p.24

helping other teachers to develop their skills by:

a) ensuring that co-ordinators see teachers’ planning and are more aware of what is going on in the school; b) observing and commenting supportively and developmentally on the teaching observed; c) scrutinising pupils’ work more systematically and reporting on this aspect of their work to the headteacher and to staff. (Paras 105, 123, 129, 140, 146 )

p.24

helping other teachers to develop their skills by:

• Organise the library to better effect and facilitate its use for the development of pupils’ reference skills.

p.24

helping other teachers to develop their skills by:

(Paras 61, 62, 98, 105, 154 ) St George’s Central CE Primary - 25 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

p.24

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 30

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 0 9 45 42 3 0 0 The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching and may not equal 100 due to rounding. 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) 22 306

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 51 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Year 6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 5

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 29

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils Number of pupils with English as an additional language 1

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 3

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 11

p.25

Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St George’s Central CE Primary - 26

p.25

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

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 02 [01] 19 24 43

p.26

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.26

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

Boys 15 16 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 21 21 22

p.26

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

Percentage of pupils School 84 [89] 86 [91] 88 [93] at NC level 2 or above National 84 [84] 86 [86] 90 [91]

p.26

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.26

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

Boys 15 15 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 21 21 21

p.26

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

Percentage of pupils School 84 [89] 84 [89] 86 [89] at NC level 2 or above National 85 [85] 89 [89] 89 [89]

p.26

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

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

p.26

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

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 02 [01] 16 26 42

p.26

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.26

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

Boys 9 13 15 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 19 16 23

p.26

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

Percentage of pupils School 67 [74] 69 [69] 90 [90] at NC level 4 or above National 75 [75] 73 [71] 86 [87]

p.26

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.26

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

Boys 9 10 15 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 20 18 19

p.26

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

Percentage of pupils School 69 [69] 67 [69] 83 [76] at NC level 4 or above National 73 [72] 74 [74] 82 [82] Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St George’s Central CE Primary - 27

p.26

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.27

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0

p.27

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 0 0

p.27

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 0 0

p.27

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. St George’s Central CE Primary - 28

p.27

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 14.7 Financial year 01/02

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 22.7

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 652,087

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 13 Total expenditure 657,862

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 85 Expenditure per pupil 2,005

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: Nursery Balance brought forward from previous year

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Teachers and classes Financial information

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21

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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 32

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 21 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

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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) 1

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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 FTE means full-time equivalent. St George’s Central CE Primary - 29

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 51 39 4 0 6

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 39 39 10 4 8

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 35 54 2 0 9

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 41 41 14 4 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 53 47 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 65 31 0 2 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 42 42 13 2 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 43 49 4 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 46 50 4 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 45 38 9 4 4 St George’s Central CE Primary - 30

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

64 Children are admitted to the nursery in September and January as they approach the age of three. They are taught in the nursery class until the September before they reach the age of five when they move into one of the two reception classes. Parents of nursery children are given the choice of either morning or afternoon part-time sessions. Currently, there are 33 children in the nursery class, with 24 attending the morning session and 19 attending in the afternoon. There are 44 children attending the reception classes full-time, with 21 in one class and 23 in the other.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

65 The children follow a programme of work based on the national guidelines produced for children in the Foundation Stage (nursery and reception classes). The children cross ‘stepping stones’ in each of six areas of learning.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

66 In the nursery, the teacher and teaching assistant provide focused support to children learning the basic skills of communication, language, literacy and mathematics, including number. The children have a range of other good opportunities to learn through play and from the other activities set out by the teacher and teaching assistant. This makes their learning active, relevant and interesting.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

67 In the reception classes one teacher focuses on teaching literacy to all the reception children, while the other concentrates on teaching numeracy. For other work linked to the areas of learning, children select from the activities set out by the teachers and teaching assistants. The teachers monitor which activities the children have chosen so that they can be sure that all children learn from a variety of experiences.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

68 Foundation Stage staff have responded well to the need for improvement since the last inspection. They have acted well on advice and have established a clear framework for improvement. Teaching observed in the Foundation Stage was good, resulting in good learning.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

69 Most children start the nursery with skills and knowledge levels that are below those expected for children of this age. Their skills are particularly underdeveloped in speaking, listening, and personal and social development.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

70 Children with special educational needs are identified early so that they can be given good help and care. This helps them to achieve well. All children make good progress throughout their time in the Foundation Stage classes. The main emphasis of teaching from the start is on the development of basic language and mathematical skills, and helping children to develop their personal and social skills, self-esteem and confidence.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

71 Teachers use the information about the children from home visits before the children begin the nursery well to plan early learning experiences. Teachers share information effectively at transfer to the reception classes and also make assessments of all children’s basic skills. Consequently, teachers’ good planning is appropriately focused so that the children benefit from activities in each of the areas of learning.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

72 The environment for the young children is attractive and encourages them to learn. The work of the Year 1 children in Key Stage 1 indicates that, by the end of their time in the Foundation Stage, the majority of children are well prepared for the expectations of the St George’s Central CE Primary - 31 National Curriculum. As they enter Key Stage 1 a small number of children achieve well in all areas of learning, and are working at levels above those expected.

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Personal, social and emotional development

73 On entry to the Foundation Stage the children’s personal, social and emotional development is below that expected. The children learn quickly and make good progress so that, by the time they complete their reception year, children achieve the nationally agreed standards. The teachers have high expectations of the children who work hard in a busy environment. The teachers clearly communicate to the children their expectations of how children should play and work together. All groups of children, including those with special educational needs, are encouraged to join in, play together and help each other with their work. The staff encourage the children to share equipment and to take turns. The children in the nursery work well alongside each other and some are beginning to share resources well. Many are polite and caring of one another. Two children shared out the candles for the birthday cakes they were making, so that they each had enough to go on top of their

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Personal, social and emotional development

cakes. The intervention of adults helps the children to learn well because the children are shown gently and kindly how they should respond to other children.

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Personal, social and emotional development

74 The children change their shoes, and take off their jumpers for physical education lessons. The younger children in the nursery find this difficult and some need help but the teachers encourage independence and show the children that they expect them at least to try to do things for themselves. The children in the reception classes cope well putting their clothes and shoes tidily so that they can dress themselves at the end of the lesson. Most children dress themselves, with some needing help with shoes. Most children learn the class routines well. They happily tidy up and put away resources they have been using at the end of the lesson and know that this is expected of them.

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Personal, social and emotional development

75 Teaching in this area is consistently good. Members of staff are patient and caring with the children and this enables the children to learn and develop their social awareness. Those who find it particularly difficult to join in class activities are given good help and encouragement to contribute. The children often work in groups and pairs and they learn to work together well. The children happily work with different children and become increasingly confident to join in. All staff give clear ideas of what is expected of the children, including the difference between right and wrong. This positive support for the children’s needs makes a good contribution to their moral and social development.

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Communication, language and literacy

76 The children make good progress, particularly in the skills of speaking and listening as a result of good teaching. Most children come into the nursery class with speaking and listening skills below the average found nationally. Because of this, teachers place great emphasis on this area of learning during the autumn term, resulting in the children making good progress. By the end of the Foundation Stage, most children attain standards that are close to those expected nationally and a few attain standards above this level. On average, the standard is a little below the nationally expected level.

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Communication, language and literacy

77 Teachers employ a range of strategies to encourage the children to develop their vocabulary and confidence in speaking, for example when nursery children were asked to talk about what they would write in a card they would send to someone else in the nursery. Very good opportunities were provided for the children to make marks on their cards to represent writing. The children held their pens correctly and the teachers showed them insistently how to hold their pens if they were not sure. The children enjoyed ‘writing’, then sealing their cards in envelopes before posting them in the post box. This was a very good example of how the nursery links activities to ‘real life’ situations, so that learning is St George’s Central CE Primary - 32 meaningful to the children. Similarly good work was seen in the reception classes, where the teacher read the story ‘Owl Babies’ to the class, then, using puppet owls as a stimulus,

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Communication, language and literacy

asked the children to re-tell the story in the right order. This gave the teacher a good opportunity to assess the children’s ability to listen to, and recall, a sequence of events.

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Communication, language and literacy

78 Role-play areas are a particular focus for the development of spoken language. The emphasis the teachers and teaching assistants place on the development of speaking and listening skills in these areas is clear and has a positive effect upon the children’s confidence. For example during outside play, some nursery children dressed as postmen and talked to adults and other children about delivering letters. Children’s confidence in a social situation is developing well.

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Communication, language and literacy

79 All the children enjoy stories and respond to them well. They are extremely interested in the books the teachers read to them. They particularly enjoyed reading the book about the ‘Owl Babies’, and the work they did linked to the story. The nursery children know how to hold a book so that it is the right way up, they have a good idea about where to start reading, how to turn the pages and many try to tell the story using the pictures. Children in the reception classes know from the pictures that the story follows a sequence and some will attempt to read the words. Throughout lessons there is a strong emphasis on language development. Children in both classes have books to take home to share with parents or carers and in this way the children’s learning at school is extended.

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Communication, language and literacy

80 Writing is prominently displayed in all areas of the Foundation Stage and this is effective in encouraging the children to write purposefully with good reasons to write. In the nursery, children make marks on paper that resemble writing and they tell adults what their writing says. This good progress is extended in the reception classes, where children make improving attempts at writing words and short sentences. Copywriting is practised so that children form letters properly. Alongside this, teachers help children to sound out the letters that form words. This scheme helps the children to grow in confidence that they can match and write a letter shape to a sound and they begin to develop independence in their writing.

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Mathematical development

81 On entry to the nursery class the children’s mathematical development is below that expected. During the year their progress is good and they enter the reception classes with standards that are close, though overall a little below, those expected for children of their age. The basic skills of numeracy and mathematical understanding are extended in the reception year. The good teaching ensures that by the time they reach Year 1, the children have learned well and they have a sound grasp of the basic skills of mathematics they need for the first year of the National Curriculum.

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Mathematical development

82 In the nursery, the children sing number songs and this helps to reinforce their learning of numbers. They use the stick ‘spider’ to pick up numbered ‘bugs’ and then count out items to match with the number on the bug. This challenging activity promotes good learning of number and digits. The range of different activities the teachers plan for the children means that they are interested in their learning, and so good learning takes place.

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Mathematical development

83 The numeracy teacher in the reception class provides the children with many activities and experiences so that they develop their mathematical skills through more formally taught sessions and through play. In one good lesson, counting to the rhythm of a drum was used to help children to sequence numbers. The work that followed involved discussion about the properties of squares, rectangles, triangles and circles. All the children could name these shapes and some know, for example, that all the sides of a square measure the same. St George’s Central CE Primary - 33 84 Good practical teaching allows the children to have many opportunities to practise their skills and consolidate their understanding. In one lesson, children played with five different games in the hall, with adult help. They counted up scores and enjoyed the friendly competition with each other. This activity helped the children to learn how to play games

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Mathematical development

according to simple rules as well as use their number skills in different situations. The lesson effectively combined social and personal development with learning in another area. The teacher carefully plans these lessons so that children’s learning is built on securely, lesson after lesson.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

85 In their knowledge and understanding of the world, most children’s attainment on entry to the nursery class is below that expected. However, they achieve the standards expected for this area of learning by the end of the reception year. The teachers and learning support assistant provide a wealth of activities to extend the children's understanding of the world around them. This means they enlarge their knowledge from the starting points of their own home, families and school. Good teaching ensures that children make consistently good progress.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

86 The teachers and teaching assistants plan a varied programme for the children in this area of learning. Children develop a sound understanding and concept of time as they explore the seasonal changes happening around them in the local park. They discuss their observations and develop their observational, speaking and listening skills. They visit an area where owl boxes can be seen and they learn how owls hunt in the dark, picking up the word ‘nocturnal’ in their lesson. They discover how owls regurgitate the indigestible items of their food to make owl pellets. Many activities were centred around the story of the ‘Owl Babies’ and children explored and investigated different media for making models of the owls.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

87 The children have good access to information and communication technology. In the nursery, children develop good skills of hand and eye co-ordination to position shaped blocks into a jigsaw shape. They have to control the shape on screen using the mouse pointer. They enjoy this activity, especially when they are successful and the character pops up to reward them.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

88 The quality of the teaching overall is good, and the staff effectively plan a wide and interesting range of activities in order to cover all aspects of this area of learning.

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Physical development

89 As children enter the nursery class their levels of attainment in physical development are below those expected. However, children make good progress and they achieve the standards required in this area of learning by the time they reach the end of the reception year. Good teaching in this area enables pupils to make good progress from a low base. Teachers and teaching assistants use many supportive strategies to help children improve. The outside areas and the school hall are all used to help children to acquire body co- ordination through larger type movements. Skilled teaching also means that the children are taught how to control a variety of pens, paint brushes and glue sticks as they work. For example, the children in the nursery are encouraged to hold a pen properly when attempting to write. Children in the reception classes use scissors well when cutting shapes to decorate their paper owls.

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Physical development

90 The teachers encourage co-operative working alongside physical development in the children's physical education sessions. The children enjoyed moving around the hall using different speeds and movements. They followed instructions well and responded positively St George’s Central CE Primary - 34 to the challenge of the tasks. They were encouraged in this effective lesson to avoid bumping into one another, to walk, run and skip. With help and guidance many achieved this. They all had great fun in the warm up and cool down sessions.

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Physical development

91 The outside areas are used well to develop the children’s physical development. The nursery children play with the wheeled toys. They also extend and develop their imaginative play by pretending they are driving around their town to deliver the post. Children in reception practise throwing and catching balls of different shapes and sizes, helping to develop their concentration and their abilities to co-ordinate hand and eye movement.

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Creative development

92 In creative development most children’s attainment is below the level expected when they enter the nursery class but as they leave the Foundation Stage, they have made good progress and are achieving the levels expected for children of this age. The children are well taught and have many opportunities to learn new techniques and use different materials. Music, mainly in the form of singing action songs, plays a large part in the routine of the nursery and reception classes, when all join in very well both with singing and actions. Children in the nursery enjoyed a good opportunity to learn the names of some familiar percussion instruments, matching the names to the different sounds they could hear.

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Creative development

93 The children enjoy painting pictures and making collages. In the nursery, children make a cake, ice it themselves then and carefully choose the items to decorate the top. In a good literacy lesson, children in the reception class made collages of owls, carefully sticking coloured feathers onto their shapes. Other reception children chose fillings for sandwiches then cut them into shapes to match the shapes they had discussed in the good mathematics lesson. The teachers and support assistant have a good understanding of the skills they are encouraging the children to develop. Careful attention to the development of skills and the use of vocabulary specific to the subject enables the children to achieve well. Again, co- operative and collaborative work features highly.

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ENGLISH

94 Since the last inspection pupils’ levels of attainment have improved steadily. This can be traced to a number of factors. The coherent approach to the teaching of English as a result of the successful implementation of the National Literacy strategy. Targets are set for groups of pupils and individuals and pupils’ progress is now tracked thoroughly. The relatively new co-ordinator and assistant co-odinator moderate the pupils’ writing to try and ensure progress is being maintained. The analysis of assessment data has improved. This is helping the teachers to focus their class teaching and support during lessons on the varying needs and abilities of groups and individuals. The recent improvement in textbooks and reading books has broadened the scope and interest for teachers and pupils. This is an improvement since the previous report when resources were deemed to be unsatisfactory.

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ENGLISH

95 Progress is good in Years 1 and 2, mainly as a result of good teaching, and generally sound, but more inconsistent, in Years 3 to 6. In some Key Stage 2 classes pupils make good progress. The below average attainment predicted for the current 11-year-olds in the school is largely due to the current cohort having a significant number of pupils with special educational needs which affects their reading and writing. Further down the school in the Years 3 to 5 classes, there are signs of higher attainment filtering through. The rate of progress depends on the quality of teaching but also on the attitudes and conduct of the pupils in different classes. The school makes effective use of adult support in withdrawal sessions for pupils with special educational needs and they achieve soundly. The good level St George’s Central CE Primary - 35 of support staff and the sound provision generally mean that pupils with special educational

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ENGLISH

needs make increasing progress as they proceed through the school.

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ENGLISH

96 When pupils enter the school they lack confidence in speaking and their listening skills are poor. By ages seven and 11 most pupils have made good progress and reach the expected standard in speaking and an above average standard in listening at the end of Year 2. They are currently reaching the appropriate standard at age 11 with some indication of improvement lower down the school. Pupils listen carefully to teachers and pay close attention in lessons. Most listen politely to other pupils. In some lessons, teachers miss opportunities to develop pupils’ speaking skills because they do not encourage them to give longer answers to questions, accepting single words or phrases. Shared and guided reading sessions also provide good opportunities for pupils to extend their oral skills. For example, when some Year 2 special educational needs pupils were withdrawn from class, the support assistant encouraged the pupils to look at the illustrations in the story of ‘Frisky’ before

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ENGLISH

reading it. A discussion followed and one pupil said, “That’s a shire horse” when looking at one of the illustrations. The assistant immediately seized the opportunity to build upon this pupil’s previous knowledge. She extended the knowledge of the rest of the special educational needs group by skilful questioning about the features of the shire horse and its work.

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ENGLISH

97 In Years 3 to 6 pupils develop more competency in their spoken language. They speak in assemblies. They dramatise Shabbat when studying Judaism and also the Christian festivals of Easter, Pentecost, Harvest Festival and Christmas. Year 5 pupils are good at discussing their feelings about the evacuees in ‘Carrie’s War’. Pupils are given an opportunity to express different points of view. A minority of pupils speak well explaining the plot and nature of characters in stories they have read. Equally a similar number of pupils have limited vocabulary, which inhibits their ability to express themselves precisely. Set times for discussion in all classes offer pupils the chance to communicate ideas and respond to others.

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ENGLISH

98 By age seven pupils’ reading skills are at an overall average level but boys do much less well than the girls overall. Some pupils read confidently and explain what they have read and discuss the characters in the story. Others have limited strategies and are only just beginning to read. Most pupils are positive about reading and many read at home. Many read accurately with very good intonation and with due regard to punctuation. By age 11, there is a wide range in pupils’ reading ability and currently it is below average overall but there are indications of higher attainment filtering up through Key Stage 2. A significant minority of pupils read very well with good expression. Many pupils state that they enjoy reading. As they progress through the school, pupils develop an increasing awareness of the plot and characters in books they read and predict what will happen next. Their range of

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ENGLISH

reading is reasonable and they show an interest in popular authors like J.K. Rowling and Jacqueline Wilson. Many older pupils know about contents, index, glossary and ‘blurb’ but most are rather slow when using dictionaries. Their reference skills are underdeveloped, but they know how to download information from the Internet. Although pupils know how to find out information using headings, diagrams and text, the limited use of the school library is restricting pupils’ opportunities and knowledge of how to research information from books. Library facilities were not seen being used by any classes during the inspection. The classification system is too advanced for primary pupils, for example, the labelling of shelves as ‘pure science’ and ‘the arts’. Most pupils have a satisfactory knowledge of letter sounds and use this knowledge to recognise new words. Year 6 prefects hear the younger pupils

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ENGLISH

read during wet playtimes and this is a popular activity. Progress is good in reading in Years 1 and 2 and generally good in Years 3 to 6. Pupils with special educational needs make sound progress in reading. St George’s Central CE Primary - 36 99 By the time they are seven many pupils are still printing. Even older pupils in Year 5 do not consistently write in a joined script. The style of handwriting is often underdeveloped and some presentation of work is poor. Handwriting is not given sufficient attention. The quality of handwriting meets the expected standard by Year 2. There is considerable variation in quality in Years 3 to 6. The best is neat and maturely formed but too often the work is untidy and inconsistently joined. Whilst handwriting guidelines are contained within the English policy, there is too little direct teaching of handwriting where teachers emphasise direct letter joins and general points of neatness, such as making letters the same height.

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ENGLISH

When marking work many spelling errors are not corrected and there are few examples of pupils correcting their errors. However, in Years 5 and 6, spelling mistakes are underlined and corrections written in the margins. Most teachers’ expectations of spelling levels are not yet sufficiently high and consequently even older pupils regularly make mistakes such as ‘bin’ for ‘been’ and ‘are’ for ‘our’. Too many worksheets are limiting pupils’ experience of writing in their own words.

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ENGLISH

100 Pupils’ skills in punctuation are better than at the time of the last inspection. By the time they are seven many pupils have a clear idea of writing in sentences and more able pupils are beginning to use speech marks, commas, exclamation marks and question marks. By the time they are in Year 6, most pupils write confidently in sentences, although many do not use capital letters for proper nouns. Many pupils understand the idea of a paragraph and the more able write an account in two or three paragraphs. Many pupils understand the use of speech marks, although only a minority of pupils regularly starts a new line when a new person speaks.

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ENGLISH

101 Pupils are given the opportunity to write for a range of purposes and have some experience of word-processing. By the end of Year 2 pupils write in a variety of forms including diary, poems, lists and stories. Higher attainers use good descriptive words in stories, for example, ‘dull, dark, dusty house’. The range continues into Year 3 with, for example, persuasive writing. Years 1 and 2 pupils make good progress in writing but it is inconsistent in Years 3 to 6. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress.

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ENGLISH

102 The school has used the services of a professional poet who has given workshops and performances of his work. This has had a positive effect on the pupils’ work in poetry and there are several examples of good work throughout the school. A Year 6 pupil writes ‘…warrior has dark blue eyes as dark as space.’ A Year 5 pupil writes ‘the rough surface of a turtle’s shell and the sticky feeling of chewing gum stuck to a bell’.

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ENGLISH

103 The quality of teaching of English and literacy is never less than satisfactory, and good overall in both key stages. There is room for improvement in the teaching of handwriting, spelling and presentation of work. Good teaching is spread throughout the school with very good teaching in Years 2 and 5. This is an improvement since the previous inspection when some teaching was unsatisfactory. The good teaching is reflected in the well prepared work and in the teachers’ secure knowledge and understanding of the subject. Routines are well established in most classes. Most pupils have positive attitudes and behave well. A number of pupils in one Key Stage 2 class behaved inappropriately which distracted other pupils and limited their learning. The best lessons have good pace and tasks are well matched to ability. Marking of written work is inconsistent in quality across the school. The quality of the

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ENGLISH

classroom literacy support has a positive effect on pupils’ attainment.

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ENGLISH

104 There is appropriate curriculum guidance for staff. The mixed-age classes follow a two-year rolling programme of objectives. Homework is inconsistent and varies from class to class. St George’s Central CE Primary - 37 105 The subject is well resourced for the literacy hour with a good range of big books and sets of books. There is a lack of library books. The gaps in poetry at Key Stage 1 are now being filled and new guided reading books for Key Stage 2 have recently been purchased Pupils benefit from opportunities to develop word-processing skills both in the suite and in classrooms. The role of the co-ordinator is insufficiently developed. Currently, there is only monitoring of planning which does not allow the co-ordinator to see the plans implemented in the classroom or to have a whole school view of the English curriculum in action. However, the co-ordinator leads the development of the subject with expertise and enthusiasm and

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ENGLISH

this augurs well for the continued raising of standards.

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MATHEMATICS

106 Standards in mathematics are in line with national expectations at the ages of 7 and 11. Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 and satisfactory progress during Key Stage 2. In the latest National Curriculum tests the 7 year-olds achieved standards that were in line with those for all schools, and good when compared with schools in similar areas. At the age of 11, pupils’ attainments were below those found nationally, and in line with those of similar schools. The attainment of girls was better than that of boys at the age of 7, while the 11 year-old boys did better than the girls. These differences were examined during the inspection, and, looking at the whole range of pupils’ work in mathematics, no significant difference was found between the work of boys and girls.

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MATHEMATICS

107 At the time of the school’s last inspection standards overall were judged to be satisfactory, although there were deficiencies in the curriculum. Progress was judged to be unsatisfactory because the curriculum was too narrow, and pupils were not given enough opportunities to use mathematics in other subjects. All these areas have now been addressed, and the school has, therefore, made good improvement since the last inspection. The reasons for this improvement are good provision of staff training, better planning and curriculum organisation, and good coverage of all aspects of the mathematics curriculum. Because of these factors the quality of teaching has improved, and teachers now plan lessons well, show good understanding of the work and teach basic mathematical skills well.

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MATHEMATICS

108 Much has been done recently in the infant classes to develop pupils’ mental mathematics, and this is now showing good signs of improvement. From the youngest classes they are also given good practical experiences. By the time they reach Year 2, pupils solve simple number problems, and choose the appropriate methods for addition and subtraction problems. They use the mathematical names of common two- and three- dimensional shapes, and describe some of their properties. The more able pupils use bar charts and explain what they represent. Most pupils are developing their understanding of telling the time to half past and quarter to the hour, and their most recent work shows a good grasp of the difference between odd and even numbers, including, for some pupils, the use of three-digit numbers.

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MATHEMATICS

109 Year 6 pupils understand fractions, decimals and percentages, and use correct mathematical language to describe their work. They use and understand metric measures and their imperial equivalents, and estimate and measure appropriately. When talking about their work they use terms such as ‘estimate’ and ‘metric’ with understanding. Scrutiny of recent work shows good development of work on probability and data handling, with the more able pupils moving on to use a probability scale of zero to one.

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MATHEMATICS

110 Throughout the school the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics is good. Teachers show good knowledge and understanding of the subject, and plan the work well in accordance with national guidance. They generally make good use of the time available, with a good pace of work, keeping their pupils working hard, and making effective use of St George’s Central CE Primary - 38 teaching assistants, who make a good contribution to the work of both individuals and groups.

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MATHEMATICS

111 In Key Stage 2 lessons, a few occasions were seen when teachers did not give sufficient thought to the materials that their pupils would need. This resulted in time being lost while the correct resources were found, so that the pace of work and learning dropped. In some classes there was also a lack of balance between the different parts of the lesson. Some teachers spend too much time on the introductions to their lessons. They keep the class sitting and listening for too long, so that they become restless and inattentive. When this happens it also reduces the amount of time available for the main activities of the lesson, and so practical learning opportunities are reduced. A better balance between the different parts of the lesson would keep pupils interested and involved, and enable them to make better progress.

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MATHEMATICS

112 Procedures for assessing pupils’ work have been well developed. The results of regular standardised tests are used to set group targets, and in most classes target sheets are stuck inside pupils’ books for easy reference. Optional nationally approved tests are used, and the resulting information is shared between teachers as pupils move to new classes. Information from tests is also used to identify areas of work for booster groups, which are provided as an added strategy for raising standards.

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MATHEMATICS

113 The use of ability sets is successful in promoting higher standards. These groupings enable teachers to focus their teaching better at the correct levels for their pupils. Most teachers are also good at providing different levels of work within the class, so that all pupils are supported, challenged and extended appropriately, and thus make as much progress as possible.

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MATHEMATICS

114 In most lessons seen pupils showed very positive attitudes to their work. The great majority enjoy the work and are keen to do well. They listen carefully when their teacher is talking, and give thoughtful answers to questions. When working in groups they share and co-operate well, and express their own opinions and accept those of others well. These activities make worthwhile contributions to pupils’ social and moral development. Discussions and well-planned questioning by teachers also give good opportunities for pupils to develop their basic language skills.

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MATHEMATICS

115 When working in other subjects teachers also give pupils good opportunities to make use of their mathematical skills. In science lessons, for example, pupils use graphs and charts to record the results of their investigations. In a Year 5/6 information and communication technology lesson the Year 5 pupils were entering information into a database, and this work gave them a good understanding of how to interpret information and present it in a variety of ways.

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MATHEMATICS

116 Management of the subject is satisfactory. The subject manager has been on long- term absence and this has caused some problems in the day-to-day management of the subject. The headteacher has temporarily stepped in and is working alongside the Key Stage 1 subject manager. This arrangement is satisfactory in the short-term, and is ensuring that a good overview of the subject and the promotion of higher standards, are kept to the forefront. Resources for the subject are well organised and sufficient to support the curriculum. St George’s Central CE Primary - 39

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SCIENCE

117 The curriculum for science and teachers’ confidence in the subject have both improved since the last inspection and there is a greater emphasis on scientific investigation. This is beginning to show through in the results in national tests at the end of Years 2 and 6. A large percentage of the seven-year-olds reached the national expectations in the teachers’ assessments in 2002 and also in the national tests at the end of Year 6. However, results were still below average because comparatively few obtained the higher levels. They were average against similar schools. Currently most pupils are in line to reach the expected standard at the end of Year 2. Results at the end of Year 6 are not expected to be as high because of the significant number of pupils in the year group who have learning or other difficulties. Pupils achieve well in Years 1 and 2 because of the good teaching in the subject. They are achieving soundly in Years 3- 6 with some examples of good progress

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SCIENCE

within Years 3 and 4. There is good evidence of the improved standards filtering through into Years 3 and 4. This is because of the better understanding pupils have been developing in Years 1 and 2.

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SCIENCE

118 By the end of Year 2 pupils label correctly on a diagram major parts of the body, such as cheek, fingers and eyes. They appreciate that there are differences in size and colour between individuals’ features. They know that animals move in varying ways and at different speeds. They understand that there are things that are alive and not alive. They are aware of healthy and unhealthy foods. They make simple electric circuits. They contribute ideas for planning experiments and recognise and explain what makes a fair test, for example when exploring materials to find out the extent these allow light to pass through. They begin to appreciate that fairness has to be applied to science investigations to make the results valid.

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SCIENCE

119 By the end of Year 6 pupils test different materials to find out the best insulating material and make good use of prediction in their tests, although they do not reason their predictions enough. They tabulate their results well and make good use of numeracy as when they measure the changes in temperature during their investigations at different intervals of time and plot line graphs of their pulse rates. They understand the terms solids, liquids and gases. In the best work, pupils draw conclusions about what they have done, for example when they measure in Newtons the force required to pull an object across a shiny surface compared to that across a rough surface. Pupils have a sound understanding about gravity. They understand something about the food groups, such as proteins and carbohydrates, and list items of food under the correct heading with a good knowledge of the importance of the different groups. Some good use is made of information and

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SCIENCE

communication technology to make decision diagrams.

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SCIENCE

120 Resources for the subject are plentiful and of good quality and teachers use these well in lessons so that all pupils can be actively engaged. All pupils were able to select an appropriately graded forcemeter measure when working on force. Occasionally teachers bring in their own property to help with a teaching point. This adds interest as when the Year 5/6 teacher demonstrated a toy woodpecker going down a stick in the work on gravity. A nail puzzle further exemplified the point. The ready availability of the resources and their good preparation before the lesson lead to the pupils’ increasing knowledge and understanding.

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SCIENCE

121 Teachers have sound subject knowledge and all lessons observed were at least satisfactory and sometimes good. The overall quality of teaching in the subject is sound. However, the overall judgement is somewhat constrained because limited observations of teaching could be made in Years 1 and 2. Most teaching in these year groups was scheduled outside the inspection period. There are some significant strengths in the teaching. Lessons are well sequenced and the teachers quickly discuss previous work St George’s Central CE Primary - 40 before new learning is introduced. They usually establish a good learning atmosphere. Key vocabulary is introduced and used well and often printed out on cards that are held up at the appropriate time of the discussion. Teachers research the content of lessons well. The quality of questioning is satisfactory. Occasionally teachers tell the pupils too much without

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SCIENCE

drawing the information from them through questioning and discussion. In the activity part of the lessons, some teachers use worksheets too much. This does not require enough of pupils’ own thinking and the setting out of their own ideas for recording. When pupils are undertaking measurements, which require accurate readings, teachers do not always check that pupils are able to read the measurement markings correctly before the task is begun, especially when fractions or decimals are involved and, as a result, pupils took some incorrect readings.

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SCIENCE

122 Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is satisfactory overall. They usually co-operate well with each other and they can work in pairs and in groups when undertaking investigative work. A minority of pupils do not always listen well to instructions or to explanations and cause interruptions to the flow of the lesson.

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SCIENCE

123 The subject is soundly managed and there are appropriate plans for its development. A well structured curriculum has been developed to ensure pupils do not repeat work in the mixed-age classes. There are ample materials for teachers to help them prepare their work. As yet there are no well established systems for monitoring standards, teaching and learning across the school. There is insufficient reference material to help in the moderation of work, to measure pupils’ work against the expected standard and to promote work at the higher levels.

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ART AND DESIGN

124 During the inspection only three art and design lessons were seen. These were for pupils from Years 3 to 6. Additional evidence was taken from a scrutiny of work on display, discussion with the co-ordinator, examining teachers’ planning, photographic evidence and discussion with pupils as they worked. Overall attainment for pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 is in line with that expected for their ages and similar to that at the last inspection. Throughout the school, pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress in their skills and techniques. Their achievements are sound by the time they leave the school.

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ART AND DESIGN

125 By the end of Year 2, pupils have experienced a range of media, styles and materials. They have a developing knowledge of line, colour and pattern making. Pupils draw confidently with pencils and crayons and experiment with a range of materials. They produce vibrant pictures when undirected and enjoy using colour and making large brush strokes. Pupils’ work on portraits shows the careful use of charcoal with confident firm lines. Painted portraits show some realistic use of colours and delight in brush strokes for hair. They develop an eye for detail in their portraits, capturing features by careful use of line and form. The use of a portrait by Picasso helped the pupils to understand how to approach their work. Pupils’ work shows progressing development of manipulative skills. They develop their knowledge of pattern work by using differing shapes and explore the visual and tactile qualities of different materials and background in their collage work.

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ART AND DESIGN

126 In Years 3 to 6, pupils consolidate their skills further. They have sketchbooks and practise for example, drawing facial features for their work on portraying relationships. Good use is made of famous artists to support their work, for example, Degas, Beryl Cook and Modigliani. These give pupils ideas for developing their own work. Pupils’ observational work is well developed. They observe musical instruments well and show light and shade giving a three-dimensional effect. They make textile collages showing Greek legends in a St George’s Central CE Primary - 41 story sequence and use simple but effective stitching to decorate them. Fabric is well used to show wave formation in the sea. There is good use made of Andy Goldsworthy’s ideas of collecting natural materials to make woven designs, spirals and three-dimensional forms. These show well how pupils are developing their ideas and skills. Pupils’ work is often

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ART AND DESIGN

displayed to provide ideas for others. Years 5 and 6 study people in action and learn about sequencing movements. They effectively alter the position of a figure and shade them to convey speed of movement.

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ART AND DESIGN

127 Because of the limited number of lessons observed, it is not possible to make a secure judgement about teaching across the school. However in the lessons seen there were some good and very good features. Activities and techniques are very well explained and the work pupils undertake is valued. There are clear expectations with regard to behaviour that results in both interest and enjoyment of the activity. Teachers’ good relationships with the pupils encourage and help to sustain their interest and concentration. A specific art technique, such as observation of a background in a portrait, gives pupils more insight and purpose into what they are doing. Positive approaches to pupils and allowing experimentation, encourage confidence in them and their work. Through careful instruction, pupils are able to select their materials appropriately and work well to achieve the shared objectives.

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ART AND DESIGN

128 The display work is attractive and reflects the teachers’ conscientious efforts to value and celebrate pupils’ artistic achievements. The hall, corridors, classrooms and resource areas display a variety of pupils’ work that is well mounted and covers a wide range of subjects and materials. All the pupils’ work shows care and effort. Very good use has been made of the artist in residence and the large mural in the hall and the one outside the school show the outstanding results of this collaboration. Very good use is made of the Local Education Authority’s arts centre and pupils benefit from the work they undertake. There is also good collaboration with the local secondary school and pupils have opportunities to work there and undertake for example, ceramics.

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ART AND DESIGN

129 The management of the subject is satisfactory overall. The role of the co-ordinator is under developed because there is no monitoring of teachers’ planning or teaching. The resource areas, although limited in space available are well managed and used. The art policy covers all areas of the subject and the school uses the national guidelines for art. A two-year rolling programme has been developed. The action plan highlights appropriate areas for development. Assessment procedures and evaluation are part of the policy to be undertaken. There are portfolios of pupils’ work but these lack annotation and do not indicate National Curriculum levels. Currently assessment procedures are weak as there is no skills based record to monitor attainment over time. Although the resources for the subject are satisfactory overall, there is insufficient use of the computer in classes to support teaching and learning.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

130 Standards at the end of Years 2 and 6 are in line with national expectations and similar to those at the last inspection. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress over time. Judgements are based on the observation of one lesson, discussion with the subject co-ordinator and a scrutiny of pupils’ work, including the good work on display from technology days held recently.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

131 Since the last inspection, the policy for design and technology has been reviewed. Teachers now use national guidance to improve their planning and allow for the development of skills. No lessons were seen in Years 3 to 6 but a scrutiny of previous work St George’s Central CE Primary - 42 and displays show that a suitable range of practical activities is provided as pupils move from class to class and pupils’ attainment meets expectations by ages seven and 11.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

132 Pupils in Years 1 and 2 design packaging and make boxes using card. They learn to draw, cut and carefully score the fold lines for nets of cubes and cuboids. In writing about their work, pupils show a developing knowledge of the vocabulary of the subject, using words like ‘scoring’ and ‘packaging’ as part of their evaluation. They fold and stick the nets to make packages for different items and they decorate their boxes to make them attractive as well as functional. They evaluate their work by comparing what they have made with the packages used for well-known brands of fast food. One pupil evaluated the work by writing ‘ I didn’t like my package because the decoration wasn’t in the right place when I folded it.’ This shows a good awareness of the need to consider all aspects of design before completing a product.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

133 In a good Year 1 lesson, pupils accurately designed the shapes they would need to construct model houses. In the discussion that followed, pupils showed a good awareness of how to evaluate their drawings and discuss the features of their houses to be included in their finished models. Pupils with special educational needs participate well in all activities. When necessary classroom assistants support them in the lesson to ensure that they have full access to the subject. Other Key Stage 1 pupils have made good puppet animals using a variety of materials and learning some basic sewing and joining skills. Some evaluations show that pupils have given careful thought to how they would improve their puppet, such as when one pupil wrote ‘I would make it better by making the eyes bigger and shinier.’ Other pupils are less clear about evaluating their work, shown in the way that some wrote the same comment for their evaluation ‘I would make my stitches smaller.”

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

134 No lessons were seen in Years 3 to 6 but the work seen on display shows that pupils have enjoyed making musical instruments. Some of these replicate instruments used in African culture, helping the pupils to develop a greater understanding of the musical traditions of other people. In making their instruments, pupils selected materials that were fit for their purpose, such as using soft corks as the beating end of drumsticks and crown bottle caps for the bells on a tambourine. Other pupils had made chairs from boxes and other recyclable materials. Their designs showed that they had considered form and function in their work, with interesting designs and characters used as part of the structure. The use of materials and joins shows an understanding of the need to make their chairs strong. The pupils take into account, not only the size required, but the practical issues associated with choosing appropriate material for the structure.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

135 The co-ordinator leads the subject well. The introduction of design and technology days, when all pupils in the school take part in a whole-day design and make activity, has improved confidence among staff and pupils, as seen in the work on display. There is a satisfactory range of resources for the subject. Most of the resources are in reasonable condition but some need replacement. Although there is currently no formal programme of assessment for the subject, the co-ordinator plans to introduce ways in which pupils can self- assess their work, keeping their own records of the achievements they make.

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GEOGRAPHY

136 Little geography was taking place during the inspection period as the major focus in humanities work was in history. Evidence was drawn from pupils’ work across the school and from the one lesson that was observed in lower Key Stage 2. The scrutiny of work indicates that pupils are reaching the expected standards by the end of both Years 2 and 6. Overall, they make expected gains in their learning in most parts of the school, although some of the work in lower Key Stage 2 is insufficiently geographical. As a result, in some St George’s Central CE Primary - 43 lessons pupils do not make enough steps forward in their geographical understanding. They make up the backlog in upper Key Stage 2 in which some good work was observed in the subject. Pupils’ attainment is similar to that at the time of the last inspection.

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GEOGRAPHY

137 By the end of Year 2 pupils identify different types of houses by their appearance, such as terraced and detached. They draw a simple plan of their bedroom and a basic map of their route to school. Pupils identify their own street on a large scale Ordnance Survey map and note the approximate location of their house. They are aware of some of the different roles people play in society and of their places of work. They compare their own location and its facilities with that of Blackpool. They know why Blackpool has so many hotels. They are aware of the sequence of the seasons and the kinds of clothes usually worn at those times. They appreciate the style of life on an island by studying an imaginary island in literature.

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GEOGRAPHY

138 By the end of Year 6, pupils know that there are different types of settlement and can name hamlet, town and village. They begin to understand and recognise some of the Ordnance Survey symbols such as campsite, viewpoint and churches. They make comparison between their own location and Coniston and interpret rainfall graphs of the two places and draw conclusions. They become environmentally aware as they argue the case for and against quarries and the positive and negative features of their own environment. They make studies of the life of a hillside farmer. They further their Key Stage 1 studies by noting the places where their parents work and gain a better understanding of economic activity. They make a detailed study of an Indian village and through this study appreciate that the climate has a distinct effect upon the ways lives are lived in different parts of the world.

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GEOGRAPHY

139 Lack of evidence prevents an overall judgement on teaching in this subject. In the one lesson observed, however, the teaching was unsatisfactory because the challenge of the work was not appropriate and the lesson was mainly one of design and technology as pupils designed their own bird table garden. Pupils were well behaved in this lesson and enjoyed making their designs with cut out coloured paper in three-dimensional relief.

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GEOGRAPHY

140 Resources for the subject are adequate. The co-ordinator manages the subject soundly and monitors standards of work informally. She does not have regular systems to see teachers’ planning or pupils’ work. Planning is more structured since the last inspection and fulfils National Curriculum Programmes of Study.

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HISTORY

141 The standard of attainment at the end of both key stages is broadly in line with that found nationally. This is a similar picture to the judgements made in the previous report. Evidence from lessons observed, from pupils’ work, planning documents and displays, as well as from pupils’ responses in class, confirm that standards at ages seven and 11 are in line with the expectations for their age. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, generally make satisfactory progress and make good progress in lessons that are carefully planned to develop key skills. A scheme of work has been introduced, which includes sequences of lessons to develop and assess pupils’ historical skills and knowledge. This is an improvement since the previous report, which stated skills, concepts and assessment opportunities needed development in the scheme of work.

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HISTORY

142 By the end of Year 2 pupils develop a sound range of chronological skills; they recognise similarity and difference in past and present practices and customs and change over time. They are developing a growing awareness of people’s lives in the past, for example, the work of Florence Nightingale. The sound teaching is based on good planning. St George’s Central CE Primary - 44 Year 2 pupils understand how modern toys are different from those in the past. Pupils bring in their modern toys and discuss the design and materials used for making. The teacher displays toys from the past and encourages discussion about aspects of the past. Pupils enjoy the sensory experience of feeling old toys; they feel the glass eyes of modern teddy bears and compare with the sewn on variety of older bears. Very good home/school relationship in this topic are developed with pupils and parents completing a questionnaire

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HISTORY

about their toys comparing similarities and differences. Pupils set up a museum and they compose a pictorial guide that contributes to their English studies. Pupils share their knowledge with others who visit the museum.

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HISTORY

143 By the end of Year 6 pupils have a satisfactory knowledge of chronology and cover history topics well. They are aware of Ancient Greek Society, describe the lifestyle of rich, poor and slaves and compare this with modern Greece. Lower Key Stage 2 classes have a clear understanding of the Romans and how the Celts lived in Britain. They know that evidence may be biased and research three different historical accounts of Boadicea’s life. Pupils give some reason why the Romans invaded Britain. They research information about the Roman Army, roads and trade. They begin to link information from historical sources. Teachers explain clearly to older pupils that the lesson objective is to understand that historical evidence can be presented and interpreted in different ways. They look at artefacts from the Victorian period, for example, slates with chalk and realise that very little written work was retained by pupils. Comparisons between their lives and the hard working

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HISTORY

lives of Victorian children stimulates their interest and ensures they understand the conditions that people lived in during Victorian times.

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HISTORY

144 The quality of teaching is sound overall. Good planning and organisation is in place. Those teachers with good subject knowledge use it well to introduce the current historical terms. Teachers make links with other subjects to consolidate basic skills. For example, the lower Key Stage 2 classes write letters from Henry VIII to his wives and they write job descriptions for a King. In this aspect the subject makes a satisfactory contribution to developing pupils’ literacy skills. Most pupils maintain their interest very well throughout lessons. This is because the carefully planned range of activities gives pupils the knowledge and confidence they need to evaluate information from different sources. A minority of the older pupils display some unacceptable behaviour, but with sensitive and firm management by the teachers they quickly return to the set tasks. There are no major weaknesses in the

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HISTORY

teaching but aspects of the teachers’ marking show inconsistency. Some marking is very supportive and encouraging to the pupils – sometimes praising on work that is only of average standard – but it does not effectively show pupils what it is they need to do next to improve.

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HISTORY

145 History lessons provide a broad and varied range of interesting and challenging activities, which capture pupils’ imagination and build on their curiosity. In June this year all the school celebrated the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. All display boards were covered with colourful and interesting themes connected with this. Competitions for example, collecting 50 objects in a Smarties tube were held. Jubilee games were played in the Hall such as knocking down a line of 50 pennies.

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HISTORY

146 The subject policy was updated this year and the national guidance scheme of work is used. The role of the co-ordinator is under developed. The co-ordinator monitors the planning but there is no monitoring of the lessons to ensure the learning objectives are taught. Simple assessments are undertaken; one piece of work is assessed yearly and written assessments are included in reports to parents. Most assessment is informal. It is unclear how teaching and learning are to be developed when no formal system is in place for monitoring lessons and assessment. No visits are planned to complement the topics; this limits the pupils’ participation in living history. Visitors to the school, for example, grandparents, enrich the teaching of history by retelling their experiences of life in the past. St George’s Central CE Primary - 45 Teachers make use of the Internet to give pupils access to different sources of information

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HISTORY

about the past. A variety of items borrowed from the local Museum Loan Service are used well to enrich pupils’ learning. Resources are satisfactory overall, with some room for improvement.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

147 At the ages of seven and 11 pupils’ standards in information and communication technology are in line with those found nationally, and progress is satisfactory throughout the school. At the time of the last inspection progress was judged to be unsatisfactory at Key Stage 1, and the standards attained by the age of 11 were below expectations. The school has therefore made good progress in raising standards since the last inspection. Key factors in this improvement have been

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

• thorough review of hardware and software, • followed by substantial investment in new equipment and facilities, • continued staff training and development • adoption of national guidelines

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

148 By the time they reach Year 2, pupils attain standards that are in line with those expected for their age. They carry out basic operations on the computer, by means of the keyboard and mouse, such as entering, saving and retrieving their work. They are familiar with activities, such as using a range of drawing tools like those in the Colour Magic software for drawing lines and filling different areas with colour. The more able pupils have experiences which allow them to compare the use of the computer with manual methods, for instance when using a word bank.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

149 In Year 6 pupils add to, amend, and combine information from a variety of sources. They use information and communication technology to present information in a variety of ways, and produce presentations, which take account of the expected audience. In a Year 5/6 lesson, for example, the class was split into two groups one of which worked with the support assistant on producing their own PowerPoint presentations about ‘My Family’. They were already familiar with the basic operations of the software and showed creativity and enthusiasm in combining text, graphics, colour and special effects to produce good quality presentations. The support assistant’s effective work was a significant factor in the success of the lesson.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

150 The school now provides a curriculum for information and communication technology which is sufficiently broad and balanced, and which meets all statutory requirements. More development is needed in some areas, such as the use of electronic mail and the Internet, and the use of information and communication technology to control devices, but the work done so far has ensured that curriculum provision is satisfactory overall.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

151 The quality of teaching is good. Teachers generally work confidently with a range of software, and show good subject knowledge. The work is well planned and the time available for working in the new information and communication technology suite is well used. In a Year 1/ 2 lesson for example, pupils learn about word banks. The teacher explains how sentences can be built up on screen by dragging words into place. She explains the ideas clearly and manages the class well. The effective teaching strategies and appropriate subject knowledge enable all the pupils to learn well. The very good use of the support assistant to work with half of the class enables activities to be done in smaller groups. This, together with the good ratio of pupils to computers, ensures that there is a good pace of learning for pupils of all abilities, and everyone is fully included in the work. St George’s Central CE Primary - 46

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

152 The teaching of information and communication technology in the context of other subjects is in need of further development. Some examples were seen during the inspection, where information and communication technology was well used, but these were exceptions. In a Year 6 English lesson, for example, a group of less able pupils worked with two support assistants in the information and communication technology suite. The clearly structured programme and small steps in learning were well managed by the support assistants. The pupils worked to plan an animal story. They used boxes on screen for the setting, characters, and main events of the story, and by using the computers they produced simple sentences more easily.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

153 Although such examples of good practice were seen, in many lessons opportunities were missed to make appropriate use of the computers. Whilst most teachers have the computers switched on in their classrooms, they are often left unused. Teachers and subject managers need to look more closely for opportunities to use information and communication technology to support learning across the curriculum.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

154 The school has improved provision for information and communication technology by developing a suite next to the library. This allows time-tabling of lessons for all classes, and these good facilities are used well. The use of the library as an extra space during lessons does, however, restrict its availability for reading and reference activities.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

155 Pupils generally show positive attitudes towards their work in information and communication technology. They enjoy working at the computers, and are good at sustaining their concentration, even when the teacher is not close by. In many activities they are required to work in pairs or small groups, and such work provides good opportunities for sharing and working co-operatively. Pupils of all ages respond well on such occasions, and these activities make a very good contribution to their social and moral development.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

156 Management of the subject is good. Much has been done to address issues of staff confidence and subject knowledge, and the benefits of the improvements in these areas are now beginning to be felt. The school has realistically appraised the subject since the last inspection, and has systematically worked to put in place the necessary improvements. Substantial additional funding has been found, both from the school’s own resources, and through the fund-raising efforts of parents, staff and friends of the school, and this is having a significant impact.

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MUSIC

157 Pupils’ attainment is as expected for their ages at Year 2 and Year 6. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress. This is similar to the last inspection and the school has maintained its satisfactory standard. The weakness previously identified in singing is receiving attention and clear objectives are given in the school’s action plan. Singing is satisfactory overall, although on occasions lacks vitality. The introduction of some national guidelines for music has been well incorporated into the existing commercial scheme.

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MUSIC

158 Only one lesson was seen at Key Stage 1. Pupils sing in tune and compose simple rhythms using a variety of untuned instruments with appropriate control and technique. They enjoy working in small groups with a ‘conductor’ and watch, listen and perform collaboratively. They perform enthusiastically in front of others and use the instruments with care. They listen attentively to extracts of music and most distinguish between different rhythms and styles. As they move through the school, pupils make satisfactory progress. They sing satisfactorily with appropriate breath control and pay increasing attention to dynamics in music. The singing in collective worship and the after school singing club St George’s Central CE Primary - 47 further support this. Year 4 pupils make links with their history topic by listening to and appraising Tudor music. They express their feelings about the songs, dance rhythms and

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MUSIC

styles of the music. They make thoughtful comparisons with contemporary music. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 compare the style of a Gregorian chant with an extract from the composer Palestrina. They listen attentively, and positive links are made with spiritual development. Pupils sing increasingly complex rhythms and perform confidently in front of each other. They learn a two-part round successfully; most are secure in holding their singing parts.

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MUSIC

159 The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and has some good features. The teachers use the national guidelines and their existing commercial scheme to provide a two- year programme of appropriate activities. This is well embedded in practice and results in most pupils being interested and enjoying their learning. Planning is clear and well structured. In addition there are opportunities for pupils to have additional tuition in a range of instruments from the local peripatetic service and the local secondary school. However, these pupils’ skills are not used in the class music lessons. Opportunities are given to pupils to appraise the music they hear and this results in them developing confidence through formulating opinions and sharing these with others who listen and respond with interest.

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MUSIC

160 The subject is managed satisfactorily by the co-ordinator, although the role is presently under-developed as there is only monitoring of the infants’ classes. Currently, assessment is ongoing through the planned learning outcomes but there is a lack of monitoring individual pupils’ acquisition of knowledge and skills. Resources are satisfactory and well used.

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MUSIC

161 Music supports well spiritual, social and cultural development through the use of the local authority’s workshops on jazz, African music and Samba as well as the school concerts. The extra- curricular activities of the recorder and singing clubs provide additional learning opportunities for the pupils. They also sing for charities and at a local home for the elderly.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

162 Pupils’ attainment in physical education, in the aspects that could be assessed, is similar to that at the time of the last inspection and meets National Curriculum expectations at the end of Years 2 and 6. The curriculum is better organised than at the time of the previous inspection with a greater range of resources. The knowledgeable and enthusiastic co-ordinator has chosen a published physical education scheme, which gives detailed guidance for the staff and provides them with a good support for teaching lessons. National Curriculum Programmes of Study are fulfilled with suitable arrangements for swimming. Pupils have an opportunity to attend outdoor pursuits at a residential Local Education Authority centre in the Lake District, which widens their horizons in the subject. Together with the opportunities provided in extra curricular activities and in inter-school activities, such as swimming and athletics, there is a good curricular provision.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

163 During the course of the inspection, the teaching focus was on games activities and so judgements could not be made about gymnastics and dance. Pupils’ games skills are in line with expectations for their age. By the end of Year 2 pupils throw a quoit from one hand to the other both whilst still and when on the move. They run round hoops and arrange their own sequence of jumps around a skipping rope. From a kneeling position they throw a quoit up in the air and move to a standing position to catch it as it falls. Pupils sensibly find partners when asked and they can work well in pairs. They return the equipment sensibly to the crates at the end of the lesson. St George’s Central CE Primary - 48 164 By the end of Year 6, pupils balance a small ball on their racquets on the spot and on the move and show appropriate racquet control. They can transfer the ball to a partner’s racquet without letting the ball fall to the floor. They hold their racquets correctly. They pass

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

a rugby ball across their bodies and many know that it should be passed backwards. Most can swim 25 metres by the age of 11.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

165 Pupils play competitively and fairly and show a good team spirit. They work well with others in the main but sometimes find it difficult to listen to instructions. Boys and girls play well together and have equal opportunities to succeed. They are suitably changed for physical activity. Pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory overall. They do not boast when they win and show good appreciation of the efforts of others.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

166 Only one lesson could be observed in Key Stage 1. This was a good lesson. There was a range in quality in the three lessons observed in Years 3 to 6 from unsatisfactory to very good. Overall the quality of teaching in the subject was satisfactory. There are some significant strengths in teaching. Resources are used well with sufficient for everyone so that all are kept active. Teachers show pupils the correct way to do things, such as the correct way to hold a racquet. Relationships with the pupils are often good. They frequently make good use of demonstration by pupils but do not always set out the criteria for evaluating the demonstrations. When teaching is unsatisfactory the relationship between the teacher and the pupils is strained, the lesson lacks pace and the atmosphere is not conducive to good learning. Occasionally insufficient attention is paid to health and safety issues as when a pile of chairs sticks out into the working area.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

167 Good use has been made of professionals in sport who work in the community in rugby and in football to help improve pupils’ skills, to increase the staff’s expertise and to provide extra resources. The subject is well managed. Resources for the subject are good and enable all pupils to be active in lessons. The school makes good use of the outside hard and grassed areas to practise games skills. St George’s Central CE Primary - 49

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