St Mark's Church of England Primary School

ST MARK’S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 18 th – 20 th November 2002

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ST MARK’S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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ST MARK’S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Ramslye Road Tunbridge Wells Kent

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr. A. Gammon

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 25 th September 2000 St Mark’s CE Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 1510 Sheila Browning Registered inspector Art and design Music Educational inclusion Standards of attainment and achievement Teaching and learning How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? Leadership and management School improvement and effectiveness 9092 Ron Elam Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well the school cares for its pupils? Partnership with parents 7143 Graham Hall Team inspector Science Information and communication technology Design and technology Physical education Special educational needs 8002 Lionel Farraway Team inspector English Geography History 12593 Diane Hall Team inspector Mathematics Religious education 23674 Wendy Simmons Team inspector Foundation Stage St Mark’s CE Primary School - 5 The inspection contractor was:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

PkR Educational Consultants Ltd 6 Sherman Road Bromley Kent BR1 3JH

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Mark’s CE Primary School - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Mark’s Church of England Primary School is about the same size as primary schools nationally, with 193 boys and girls aged four to 11 years. Many pupils come from the local area and a few come from outside the area of Tunbridge Wells. The attainment of pupils on entry is below the level expected for the children’s age. The percentage of pupils who have learning and behavioural difficulties, at 15.4 per cent, is broadly in line with the national average; the percentage of pupils who have a Statement of Special Educational Need at two per cent is below the national average. There are fewer pupils than at the time of the last inspection. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, at 10.9 per cent, is broadly in line with the national average. Very few pupils are drawn from minority ethnic backgrounds. The full range of socio-economic backgrounds is represented.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school provides an adequate education for its pupils. Children in the Reception class have a good start to their education. Standards observed overall in English and science are at expected levels and for mathematics they are above. Pupils show good attitudes and behaviour and they develop good relationships. Overall teaching and learning are good, although pupils are not always sufficiently challenged in Years 1 and 2 and as a result their progress is unsatisfactory. Pupils with learning difficulties throughout the school make unsatisfactory progress. The curriculum is enriched through a good range of extra-curricular activities. The care of and support for pupils is generally good. The school results for 2002 show some improvement at the end of Year 6 but results show a decline in reading and writing at the end of Year 2. Parents are strongly supportive of the school. There are some weaknesses in leadership and management. The school is more focused on raising standards

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

and improving teaching and learning. The school gives satisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Standards in mathematics in Years 3 to 6 are above average. • Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good. • Teaching in the Foundation Stage and in Years 3 to 6 is good. • Pupils' attitudes, behaviour and personal development are strengths of the school and their relationships with adults and with each other are very good. The care of and support for pupils is good. • The overall provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and extra- curricular provision is good. • Parents are strongly supportive of the school.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Standards in Years 1 and 2, which are below average. • The unsatisfactory provision and management of special educational needs and the progress that pupils with learning difficulties make. • Assessment, which is underdeveloped, and the inadequate information for parents about their children’s progress. • Aspects of the unsatisfactory leadership and management of the school. • The curriculum for information and communication technology which is not fully taught; the use of information and communication technology for work in other subjects.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made reasonable progress since it was last inspected in September 2000. Pupils make satisfactory progress overall; their progress improves towards the upper end of the juniors. The gap between the attainment of boys and girls is narrowing. Higher-attaining pupils are usually challenged to reach their potential. The quality of teaching has improved, with an increased proportion of very good teaching. Homework is used more consistently to consolidate and extend pupils’ learning in lessons. There is scope to improve information for parents, to enable them to support their children’s progress. Assessment requires further development. Weaknesses remain in the leadership St Mark’s CE Primary School - 8 and management of the school and of subjects. Resources for reading have improved. The outside play area for children in the Reception class has improved. Induction for new staff is satisfactory.

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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 C D C C well above average above average A B

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

The table above shows the average points score achieved by pupils and includes those who gained the expected Level 4 or above in National Curriculum assessments and those achieving the higher Level 5 and above. The results of pupils in Year 2 were well below those nationally in reading and mathematics and were average in writing. Teacher assessments for science were below the national average. Results at the end of Year 6 show rising improvement, particularly in mathematics.

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STANDARDS

Inspection findings are that children in the Foundation Stage attain standards in line with what is expected for their age. They make good progress. Given this good start, pupils do not make enough progress in Years 1 and 2 and their achievements are unsatisfactory in Years 1 and 2. Pupils underachieve in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. Pupils in Year 6 attain above average standards in mathematics and average standards in English and science. By the end of Year 6 pupils achieve well and make satisfactory gains on their prior attainment. Higher-attaining pupils are usually sufficiently challenged. Pupils with learning difficulties throughout the school make unsatisfactory progress because provision is unsatisfactory. The school has set suitably challenging targets for improving standards. The 2002 school results for pupils at the end of Year 2 show a decline in reading, mathematics and science but are similar for writing. Results show improvement at

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STANDARDS

the end of Year 6, reflecting the quality of teaching and learning observed during the inspection.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils' positive attitudes make a good contribution towards promoting their achievement and progress.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils behave well in the classroom, at play and lunchtimes. They are well mannered and polite.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Very good. Personal development is well supported by opportunities to show initiative and take responsibility. Relationships are very good.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Good. Unauthorised absence is below the national average. Pupils are keen to come to school and punctuality is also good . St Mark’s CE Primary School - 9

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Overall, teaching and learning are satisfactory. There are more instances of good and very good teaching in the Foundation Stage and in Years 3 to 6. Strengths in teaching are the good management of pupils and the brisk pace of lessons, support staff, and resources are used well. Relative weaknesses are insufficient expectations of what pupils can do and are capable of in Years 1 and 2 and the quality and use of ongoing assessment throughout the school. The teaching of literacy is satisfactory and numeracy skills are well taught. Opportunities for pupils to acquire research skills and to develop independence in their learning are limited. In some lessons the close direction by the teacher limits opportunities to research, using either information and communication technology or the library. Opportunities for pupils to work together and discuss and explain their ideas, views and opinions are built into lessons; this is a prominent feature in Years 5 and 6 classes. All pupils are

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

usually sufficiently challenged. Pupils are keen to do well.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory overall, although requirements for the National Curriculum are not met for information and communication technology. Citizenship is not developed. The use of information and communication technology in other subjects is unsatisfactory. The curriculum for those children aged five and under is good and there is a wide range of interesting, challenging and relevant activities. There is a good range of extra-curricular activities.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Unsatisfactory. Pupils’ needs are not sufficiently planned for through individual education plans. The administration of the documentation is muddled and this does not support the routines of teachers and support staff and there is a lack of organisation in related documentation.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good overall. The provision for social development is very good. The provision for pupils’ spiritual and moral development is good overall. This represents an improvement since the last inspection. Provision for cultural development is satisfactory. The school’s good links with the local community make positive contributions to pupils’ learning and to the life of the school.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The school’s procedures for child protection are good. Pupils’ welfare and the pastoral support provided by the school are good. The use of procedures for tracking pupils’ attainment and progress is poor.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents are strongly supportive of the school. The quality of information for parents, particularly about their children’s progress, could be more explicit. There is a very active parent-teacher association. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 10

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory overall, although there are some weaknesses . The headteacher has led the pace of change since the last inspection and is respected by staff and governors. Weaknesses are related to inefficient and ineffective whole-school systems and procedures to move the school forward, development of the co-ordinator role, insufficient development of assessment and unsatisfactory provision for pupils with learning difficulties.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. The governing body is committed to the school. They fulfil their statutory responsibilities with the information and communication technology. They are now more informed and are involved in monitoring what happens in school. They recognise that there is scope for further development of their role. Governors’ understanding of budget and curriculum matters is secure.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance Priorities are not always well focussed. Tracking and judging the school’s performance and taking effective action are therefore unsatisfactory. The headteacher and governors are more informed about the areas for development within the school.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources The strategic use of resources is unsatisfactory. The roles of staff are fully developed; due to technical difficulties, the use of new technology has been delayed.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The accommodation is good, staffing is adequate, and resources are satisfactory. The staff provide a stimulating and interesting learning environment.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Children like school. • The school is helping children to be mature and responsible. • The teaching is good. • Children make good progress. • Staff expect children to work hard. • Behaviour is good. • The school to work more closely with parents. • Parents want more information about children’s progress. • A greater range of activities outside lessons. • The right amount of homework. • Improved leadership and management.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspection team agrees with most but not all of the parents’ positive views. Some children in Years 1 and 2 could achieve better. The school could work more closely with parents and provide more useful information about the progress their children make. The school provides a good range of extra-curricular activities. Although an appropriate amount of homework is set, the school may wish to look at the balance of this. Some aspects of leadership and management are in need of improvement. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. The children’s attainment when they enter the Reception class is below what is usually expected for their age. By the end of Reception most children demonstrate average skills in line with the expected skills, knowledge and understanding for their age in personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world, physical development and creative development. They make good progress overall and are being prepared well for the beginnings of the National Curriculum, as was the case at the time of the last inspection.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. National test results showed that in 2002 pupils at the end of Year 2 attained well below the national average in reading and mathematics and average standards in writing. When compared with schools with similar characteristics, results were the same. Standards in science attained by the end of Year 2, on the basis of teacher assessment, were below the national average and when compared with similar schools. The percentage of pupils who achieved the higher levels (Level 3 and above) was well below average in reading and mathematics and in line for writing. Teachers’ assessments in science were below average. Overall, fewer pupils achieved the higher levels in 2002. Standards were not high enough in reading, mathematics and science. Standards in reading fell significantly in 2002. Since the last inspection, test results have fluctuated, although a slight improvement is seen in writing and mathematics but

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

a decline is evident in reading and science.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. Attainment in national tests in 2002 for pupils at the end of Year 6 was well above average for mathematics, and was average for English and science. When compared with similar schools, results were the same. Considering their prior attainment in Years 1 and 2, this particular group of pupils made progress as expected in mathematics and science but did not achieve sufficiently well in English. The percentage of pupils who attained the higher levels (Level 5 and above) was below the national average in English, average in science and well above average in mathematics. Standards were not high enough in English. Since the last inspection results dipped in 2001 for English; science and mathematics results improved. The most recent 2002 school results show a recent upward trend. Nevertheless, the overall trend in the school’s results was well below the national trend over the last five years.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. In 2002, results, overall, were not significantly different for boys and girls at the end of Year 2. Girls at St Mark’s did not perform as well as girls nationally, particularly in reading and mathematics. There was a difference of the equivalent of a term and a half in their progress. The gap between boys’ and girls’ achievement is narrowing. At the end of Year 6 in mathematics girls underachieved by the equivalent of nearly one and half terms’ progress, whereas the boys outperformed boys nationally. During the inspection, nothing was observed to suggest that there is any significant difference in the achievements of boys and girls. Although, girls tend to take the lead in discussions and they speak more clearly than most boys, and in reading girls also take the lead.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. The inspection confirms the picture indicated in the test results. Pupils attain better in mathematics than in English and science. The school is addressing the attainment of pupils and recognises their underachievement. At the end of Year 2 standards in reading show a significant decline and are well below expected levels. Standards in writing are average. In mathematics, pupils did not maintain the good progress made St Mark’s CE Primary School - 12 previously and achievement in Years 1 and 2 was still not high enough. In science, not all aspects were taught and this prevented pupils reaching higher standards at the end of Year 2. By the end of Year 6 most pupils progress at a good rate, particularly in mathematics where standards are well above average; this is due to the teaching. Standards in English and science are average. Standards in all other subjects by the end of Years 2 and 6 are at expected levels with the exception of information and

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

communication technology where they are below expected levels; this is because the school has suffered from ongoing technical problems with equipment. Standards in religious education are at the expected level of the locally agreed syllabus.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. In English, the pupils’ progress is unsatisfactory in Years 1 and 2. The main reason for this is the lack of support provided for pupils with learning difficulties and for those pupils for whom English is an additional language. Also in the mixed age classes some higher-attaining pupils make uneven progress when work is insufficiently challenging. Speaking and listening skills are in line with national standards, although standards have fallen since the last report. In part, this is due to insufficient opportunities for pupils to expand upon what they say, particularly by the end of Year 1. Most girls speak more clearly and fluently than most boys. Reading standards are below national expectations by the end of Years 2 and 6. Independent reading is not monitored sufficiently and there are insufficient opportunities to consolidate work related to learning the sounds in words, and reading methods are unsatisfactory. The school

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

recognises that these are areas for further development. There are insufficient resources to support reading in Years 1 and 2 and resources are barely adequate in Years 3 to 6. Writing remains below national expectations by the end of Year 2. There is a general improvement in writing, in part due to the whole-school focus on writing over the past two years. Progress through Years 3 to 6 is good. In 2002 there was a significant improvement in girls’ English results at the end of Year 6, addressing most of the underachievement of 2001.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. In mathematics, standards are well below average at the end of Year 2. Pupils make good progress in their Reception year and achieve average standards. This good progress has not been maintained and attainment in Years 1 and 2 is still not high enough. This is mainly due to disruption to one class because of staffing difficulties, a higher proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and the organisation of classes into mixed age groups. By Year 6, pupils have very good numeracy skills; they can perform complex long multiplication sums. They have a good understanding of geometry, but are less confident when handling data. Their information and communication technology skills in this subject are very limited due to the lack of a suitable programme of work.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. In science, standards are below expected levels by the end of Year 2 but are average by the end of Year 6. There is little opportunity provided for pupils to be challenged to question their recorded data. Overall, there is very little understanding of setting up an investigation and recognising when a test is fair. There is a lack of first-hand experiences, limited recording techniques and few opportunities to question results; these all affect pupils’ progress. Another factor influencing the low standards in science has been the lack of regular teachers for half of the pupils in Year 2 this term. As a consequence, these pupils have up until now made very little progress.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. In information and communication technology, standards are below expected levels. Pupils’ use of information and communication technology has been limited due to some technical problems and because the programme is not fully taught. Pupils are not gaining sufficient opportunities to use computers to support their learning. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 13 10. Teachers ensure that they give sound attention to supporting the pupils’ literacy skills in the subjects they teach across the curriculum for most pupils. There are some pupils with learning difficulties who receive insufficient support. Teachers employ a good range of strategies to support literacy. In most lessons they make learning objectives clear and use discussion, brainstorming and role-play. They provide key words at beginnings of lessons, word banks and dictionaries to build vocabulary. There are very good links established between subjects, particularly to help with writing. For example,

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

writing reports of netball matches, writing persuasively in travel brochures and making a personal response to art.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. The National Numeracy Strategy is not yet as successfully implemented as the Literacy Strategy. Teachers provide activities that are matched to pupils’ abilities. Pupils’ knowledge of numeracy supports their learning in other subjects; for example, in science they record information onto a simple graph, in geography they draw maps and add grid references, in art and design they experiment with different shapes on the computer.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. Pupils with learning difficulties also have a range of behavioural difficulties. Most have low levels of attainment. They are identified from Foundation Stage and on entry to the school. Overall, they make unsatisfactory progress. Target setting in individual education plans (IEPs) is insufficient to support pupils’ progress. Although some recent IEPs have identified specific targets for learning, these have not yet been implemented with class teachers and support staff. However, teachers and support staff have some awareness of pupils’ needs and provide care and support for their general needs consistently.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13. The attainment and progress of most pupils for whom English is an additional language is satisfactory overall. Only one of these pupils requires additional support, and they manage well in mainstream classes. There is some specialist support provided by the local authority but none by the school for pupils in the infant classes who are at an early stage of language acquisition. As a result, attainment and progress by these pupils is below the standard of the majority.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

14. The school set appropriate targets for raising standards in 2002 for pupils at the end of Year 6, and these were exceeded in English and mathematics. The school results for pupils at the end of Year 6 in 2002 indicate significant improvement. A greater number of pupils achieved the higher Levels 5 and above in English, mathematics and science. The school is now in a position to identify more clearly the progress pupils are making and where they are having difficulties, based on its ongoing analysis of pupil performance.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Pupils' attitudes, behaviour and personal development are strengths of the school and make a good contribution towards promoting their attainment and progress. The pupils’ relationships with adults and with each other are very good. These conclusions are similar to the findings at the time of the previous inspection and reflect the widespread views of parents. Parents state that their children enjoy school. The attendance of the pupils is also good.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Throughout the school the pupils' attitudes towards learning are good. This includes those of pupils with learning difficulties. They have the confidence to try and work out answers in front of their classmates, as seen during mental mathematics in numeracy lessons. They often concentrate well and show interest in what they are doing, as was seen particularly in a Year 5 mathematics lesson plotting co-ordinates. During a Year 3 St Mark’s CE Primary School - 14 English lesson using the contents and index of different books, the good structure to the lesson led to the pupils working hard and enjoying what they were doing. In most classes pupils settle quickly to new activities in lessons and maintain their interest, even when not being directly supported by adults in the classroom. Nevertheless, in one of the Year 1 and 2 classes, though the pupils are currently well supported, the high turnover of teachers has resulted in their having difficulty in paying attention and

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Pupils’ moral development and relationships between pupils and with adults are very good and contribute to the quality of work in lessons. Pupils get on with each other when playing games at break and lunchtimes. During lessons pupils respond very well to the many opportunities provided to work in groups or pairs. In a Year 6 physical education lesson they worked co-operatively in pairs helping each other to improve a sequence of Olympic movements. In other lessons in that subject, they were seen to make sensible comments about the performances of their classmates. The youngest respect each other’s space when sitting close together on the carpet and follow the rules of circle time. Boys and girls and pupils from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds work together very well when doing group work in the classroom and when playing at break and lunchtimes. At the meeting with the inspectors, a few

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

parents mentioned some problems with behaviour, especially in the playground. None was seen during the inspection and pupils themselves considered that any extremes of behaviour are rare.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. The pupils' personal development is also good. Their spiritual development was demonstrated when pupils in Year 5 showed their ability to understand the feelings of others taking on the role of a kitchen maid during a drama lesson. They are starting to use their initiative and, for example, move around the classroom to find materials they may need. Nevertheless, such opportunities are limited and in some lessons the close direction by the teacher limits the opportunities for pupils to acquire research skills and to develop independence in their learning. The pupils throughout the school respond very well to the wide range of responsibilities they undertake both in the classroom and outside. In particular, Year 5 and Year 6 pupils show great maturity in the way they perform their duties in the school council. They recognise they have a responsibility to the younger pupils, both in obtaining their views and in taking them into account when,

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

for example, considering the use of games in a proposed reorganisation of the playground.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19. As at the time of the previous inspection, attendance is good. Absences are usually due to the inevitable childhood illnesses, though a number of parents insist on taking their children on holiday in term-time. Unauthorised absence is below the national average. Pupils are keen to come to school and punctuality is also good. Registration takes place commendably promptly at the start of the day.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Teaching and learning overall are satisfactory. A greater proportion of good and very good teaching is seen in the Foundation Stage and in the upper years of the school. In English and mathematics, teaching and learning, overall, are satisfactory, in science teaching is good. Teaching methods for developing literacy are satisfactory and for numeracy skills are good. Strengths in teaching are the good management of pupils, and the good use of time, support staff and resources. Relative weaknesses are insufficient expectations of what pupils can do and are capable of, particularly in Years 1 and 2, and the quality and use of ongoing assessment throughout the school. Since the last inspection slightly more instances of good and very good teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage and in Years 5 and 6 are seen. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 15 21. The quality of teaching and learning for children in the Foundation Stage is good, with

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

some very good features. Collaborative working between the assistants and the teachers is very good. Good teaching ensures that children of all abilities make good progress.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. In Years 1 and 2 teaching is satisfactory. Teachers, however, do not always successfully manage to provide suitably matched work for all pupils in the mixed year and mixed ability classes. This was a concern at the time of the last inspection. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do and are capable of are too low. Pupils with English as an additional language make unsatisfactory progress in Years 1 and 2 because they are not well supported. In some classes, there are pupils with behavioural difficulties. In these classes much of the classroom assistants’ time is taken in ensuring that pupils remain on task, rather than being available to support pupils with learning difficulties. Throughout the school, pupils with learning difficulties are not well supported and they do not learn as well because of this.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Although there has been an improvement in tracking pupils’ progress since the last inspection, teachers do not systematically use this information in their lesson planning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. Teachers establish good relationships with pupils and class management is good, except in Years 1 and 2, in most lessons. Usually lessons follow at a good pace and resources are used well. Teaching assistants work well with teachers and pupils but they are not assigned to specifically help pupils with learning difficulties, nor are they required to record their progress. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and pupils said that they find the written comments helpful. They understand what they need to do to improve their work. This is an improvement since the last inspection.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. The teaching of basic skills is generally good, although the use of information and communication technology for developing skills in other subjects is unsatisfactory.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Overall, satisfactory teaching meets the general needs of the pupils but lack of detailed planning for pupils with learning difficulties means the work is not always suitable for them and they make unsatisfactory progress over time. Staff are not supporting their progress satisfactorily. Support staff have not been specifically identified to work with named pupils with learning difficulties. However, within their general role of support, and because they know the pupils in the class, they do provide a good level of general care and encouragement. Some support assistants note progress and informally discuss with teachers how pupils have responded to lessons. This recording practice is inconsistent throughout the school and should be formalised. Pupils with Statements of Special Educational Need are cared for by support staff but they do not have specific learning objectives identified to enable improvement to be targeted sufficiently. This is

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

an unsatisfactory aspect of teaching for pupils with learning difficulties. Daily and weekly curriculum planning does not identify their specific needs or learning activities as a result of a lack of up-to-date and ongoing individual education plans (IEPs).

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. Overall, pupils throughout the school learn satisfactorily. They learn well from entry to the end of Reception. However, given this good start, pupils do not learn at the expected rate in Years 1 and 2 and achievement is still not high enough. Pupils generally acquire new skills, knowledge and understanding. They work hard and are keen to learn. Pupils achieve well in physical education and in art and music. These skills are developing well. Opportunities for pupils to acquire research skills and to develop independence in their learning are limited. In some lessons the close direction by the teacher limits opportunities to research using either information and communication technology or the library. Opportunities for pupils to work together and St Mark’s CE Primary School - 16 discuss and explain their ideas, views and opinions are built into lessons; this is a prominent feature in Years 5 and 6 classes. When given the chance, pupils work well

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

with one another. Older pupils have an understanding of how well they are achieving and what more they need to do to improve further. Younger pupils are not yet so clear about their personal targets.

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PUPILS?

28. The school provides an appropriate range of learning opportunities which are of satisfactory quality. Weaknesses in the curriculum concerning the development of literacy noted at the last inspection have been addressed. Although the demands of mixed age classes and mixed ability classes are taken into account, the needs of all children are not always successfully met. Statutory requirements for the National Curriculum are not fully met in terms of information and communication technology, where control and modelling are not in place. Information and communication technology is not developed across the curriculum and is therefore unsatisfactory.

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PUPILS?

29. The curriculum is reasonable in terms of the time allocated to subjects and the range of subjects offered. There is a good range of activities outside lessons; for example, clubs, including sporting and musical activities, which are offered to pupils across the school. Residential trips to Norfolk in Years 4 and 6 further enrich the learning opportunities. The National Strategy for Literacy is having a greater impact than numeracy on standards . Booster and enrichment classes are also available for identified pupils to support them in their learning. Planning for citizenship is not yet fully developed. The school has plans for this to be incorporated in the personal, social and health education programme.

p.16

PUPILS?

30. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good and is a strength of the school, as at the time of the last inspection. The newly appointed co-ordinator has a clear understanding of the needs of young children. Current planning is very good and shows good opportunities for children to explore independently.

p.16

PUPILS?

31. Although the school endeavours to include pupils as much as possible in all activities and to meet pupils’ needs as equally as possible, there are some concerns about the provision for pupils with learning difficulties and for those pupils in Years 1 and 2 for whom English is an additional language. Curriculum planning is insufficient to support pupils with learning difficulties. The judgement in the previous inspection was that provision was appropriate. There is insufficient identification of learning objectives for these pupils in the daily planning of lessons. All pupils are included in the start of lessons each day. However, there are regular occasions when pupils are removed from lessons with support staff to provide some quieter area for the benefit of all pupils. The school has no formal procedures for managing English as an additional language, such as tracking of pupils’ progress or an induction programme. The school

p.16

PUPILS?

has no specific resources to support these pupils and therefore provision is unsatisfactory.

p.16

PUPILS?

32. The school has a register and a policy for more able pupils. Pupils are identified and in most lessons they receive sufficiently challenging work. Planning to challenge the more able pupils specifically is recognised as an area for further development by the school.

p.16

PUPILS?

33. The contribution of the community to pupils’ learning is good. The local police talk to pupils about drug misuse and safety, the fire brigade talk about safety, and the school nurse raises awareness on health issues. Local vicars are frequent visitors to the St Mark’s CE Primary School - 17 school and take assemblies. The school is also very involved in different music festivals and local events. Relationships with partner schools are satisfactory.

p.16

PUPILS?

34. The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is good overall. This represents an improvement since the last inspection when it was found to be satisfactory. Provision for their spiritual development is good. Through collective worship, art, music and science pupils receive the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of life. They learn to share feelings and responses in a variety of situations. At the time of the last inspection, the school was criticised for these experiences being incidental rather than planned. Teachers now plan well for this aspect of school life. This was evident in the pupils’ excitement about their work on exploration of the solar system in Year 5 and in a drama workshop based on historical studies of ‘Upstairs / downstairs’ in Victorian Britain. Teachers also provide good opportunities for younger pupils to appreciate the importance of caring for each other, as evident in their picture

p.17

PUPILS?

book on ‘People Who Care For Us’. Many displays of pupils’ work reflect an appreciation of art and music, with pupils sharing how the characters in the Gainsborough painting of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews might have felt. Year 6, in one science lesson demonstrated a curiosity about life when watching a video about microbes and bacteria that ‘can’t been seen’ with the naked eye.

p.17

PUPILS?

35. The provision for pupils’ moral development is good. Pupils clearly understand the school rules and expectations of good behaviour and as a result they behave well in the classroom, at play and lunchtimes. Pupils are encouraged to be thoughtful to one another and they move around the school in an orderly way, even when there is no adult present. They show respect for property and take care, when collecting and putting away resources during lessons.

p.17

PUPILS?

36. The provision for encouraging the social development of the pupils is very good. The school values its members and encourages pupils to integrate well, both at work and at play. This approach results in very positive relationships between pupils themselves and between pupils and staff. In the classroom there are many opportunities to work together in pairs or groups and the Reception class makes a particular effort to develop social skills. Pupils are encouraged, and are willing, to undertake various tasks in the classroom appropriate to their age such as handing out resources and tidying up at the end of the lessons. The Year 6 pupils have a wide range of responsibilities around the school. The school council provides good opportunities for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils to help the younger ones to ensure that their views are made known to senior management. Circle time and assemblies reinforce good social

p.17

PUPILS?

values. Pupils mix with the wider world through the visitors, playing sports against other schools and through, for example, the choir going out to sing to different groups of people.

p.17

PUPILS?

37. Provision for cultural development is satisfactory. The school’s good links with the local community make positive contributions to pupils’ learning and to the life of the school. Links with the church are particularly good. The local vicar is a frequent visitor into the school leading assemblies. The school has had various artists and musicians visit, such as a Ghanaian drummer and a local artist, to help pupils to make a cloak fit for the Queen in her Jubilee year. The school is very involved in different sporting events and has teams for rugby, netball and football. There is limited evidence to show that the school is successful in raising awareness of and preparing pupils for society in a culturally diverse Britain.

p.17

PUPILS?

38. Links with partner institutions are also good. The school has a close liaison with a nearby secondary school and a nearby Beacon school. Links with and visits to the local pre-school nurseries ensure a smooth transfer into the Reception class. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 18

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. As at the time of the previous inspection, staff show appropriate concern for the needs of the pupils and provide good role models to encourage their development. Parents are pleased with the level of support in the school, seeing it as a caring community where staff are approachable if there are any problems. The procedures for providing educational and personal support and guidance are satisfactory, though those for monitoring pupils' academic performance and personal development are poor, showing little change since the last inspection.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. The school has good procedures for child protection and for ensuring the welfare of the pupils. The headteacher is the designated officer for child protection and the school follows local procedures. The staff based in the classroom have received guidance on how to deal with any situations that may arise and know who to report to in the school if necessary. The provision for first aid is very good with two fully trained staff, others with emergency training, records kept of any treatment and letters home to parents as appropriate. The arrangements for ensuring health and safety are good. The teachers make pupils aware of health and safety issues during lessons such as science, physical education and design and technology.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. A good start is being made to the initial assessments for children in the Foundation Stage. Parents are encouraged to share observations of their children’s learning, for example at the home visits, prior to starting school. In the Reception class the assessment of the children's abilities is very good, though the school is not yet making full use of the guidance to identify the progress that the children make. Assessment procedures are established in the core subjects of English and mathematics and help to secure teachers’ judgement as to how well pupils are progressing. In other subjects including science, assessment arrangements are very weak or non-existent and cannot be used to improve teaching or to plan the curriculum. The school is fully aware of this and has plans in hand to address and refine assessment. The procedures for assessing pupils' abilities in reading and writing in English are good but there are no

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

systems for speaking and listening. However, the information gained is not used effectively. It produces levels but gives little information on what the pupils can do. It is used initially to group pupils but not to review and subsequently produce more effective teaching groups. Any targets that are set are as levels not as targets of what skills the pupils need to acquire. In mathematics, pupils' files contain sheets of key objectives but they are not completed. In science, the school has just started to use a scheme of work that has assessments at the end of each unit. In other subjects, there is no assessment, though the school is building up portfolios of work in some subjects to use as examples of good work.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. The monitoring and promotion of pupils' personal development are satisfactory. The procedures are informal, relying mainly on the teachers’ knowledge of the individual pupils. The school makes good use of assemblies and circle time to highlight such areas as the meaning of friendship and helping pupils to learn to listen to others and to be tolerant of other points of view. This was seen to be used especially well in a Year 1 and 2 class, with a brief session after lunch providing a good opportunity to deal with any upsets that may have arisen at that time. Pupils' personal qualities are enhanced by the various tasks they have, both in the classroom and around the school. The school encourages pupils to recognise the value of good work with awards and names in the 'Good Book'. In the Reception class the teacher ensures that personal and social skills are integrated across all the areas of learning.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

St Mark’s CE Primary School - 19 43. The procedures for promoting discipline and good behaviour are also satisfactory. The class rules are discussed with pupils at the beginning of the school year, but few teachers allow the pupils to decide what they should be. Each class has a standard (or slightly modified) approach to maintaining discipline with the use of rewards and an escalating range of sanctions. Discussion with the pupils showed they have a good understanding of what is expected of them. The behaviour policy has an overemphasis on sanctions with no reference to strategies for the staff for managing disagreements or to the importance of teaching methods to maintain pupils' interest. Nevertheless, the teachers generally adopt a consistent approach and are effective in encouraging good behaviour. Pupils could recall only rare instances of bullying and consider that the school takes appropriate action if any occurs.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. Overall, the procedures for monitoring and promoting good attendance and punctuality are good. The registers are completed well and provide a good record of both the reasons for and running totals of absences. The office staff monitors the registers each day to telephone home in the morning if any absences are unexplained. The headteacher has a good understanding of the family circumstances of the few pupils who have very poor attendance. The procedures at the start of the day result in registration taking place promptly, helping to ensure that pupils understand the need for good punctuality. The school is not monitoring the levels of attendance in each class during the year to have early warning of any falling off in the pattern of attendance.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. Tracking of pupils’ progress is insufficient to support detailed reviews of pupils’ progress. Because pupils with learning difficulties do not have sufficiently detailed IEPs or identification within the overall curriculum planning, they do not receive equal opportunities to as full a range of learning opportunities as other pupils in the class. The special needs register is inaccurate and incomplete and pupils are listed in the wrong categories. Statements are not fully met because the documentation is not clear. However, there is a good level of care shown by all staff and they remain calm and have good levels of patience when working with pupils with behavioural problems.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. In their responses to the questionnaire, and at the meeting with the inspectors, parents showed that they are generally pleased with all that the school does. The inspection team supports the majority of their positive comments, which are similar to those at time of the last inspection. Some parents are concerned about the range of activities outside lessons. The inspection team considered that the provision of activities is very good. A few parents also feel they are not well informed about the progress of their children and the inspectors agree that the reports at the end of year are inadequate. A significant minority of parents also feels the school does not work closely with them and the inspectors conclude that the school could improve the effectiveness of its links. The right amount of homework and leadership and management were other concerns. The school sets appropriate homework but may wish to look at the balance

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

of this. Some weaknesses were evident in leadership and management.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. The school has established only limited links with the parents and these contacts are unsatisfactory. The headteacher sends newsletters home several times each term, providing general administrative information. At the beginning of each year, class teachers send letters home about helping with homework and the equipment needed in class. The school is not yet sending home information on what is being taught in each class, though intends doing so in the New Year. The prospectus is attractively produced but omits a few of the details required by law and provides no information on the Reception class. Every afternoon provides a good opportunity for parents to see St Mark’s CE Primary School - 20 the teachers in the Reception class and in Years 1 and 2. Teachers wait in the playground at the end of the day when parents are collecting their children. The inspectors saw several conversations taking place and it is apparent that parents feel

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

welcome to talk to the teachers. However, this informal opportunity is not provided by the teachers in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. The formal meetings with teachers are timetabled in the autumn and spring terms and the annual report on progress is sent home in the summer term. This report is poor for most subjects, being very brief and concentrating on the work covered or attitudes rather than the skills and understanding acquired. It also rarely has targets for improvement and, apart from English and mathematics, provides no information on how well the pupils are doing in each subject compared with national expectations. The school is not meeting the statutory requirement for parents of pupils with learning difficulties to be appropriately involved in the setting and regular review of their individual education plans.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. Parents’ involvement with the school makes a satisfactory contribution to its work and to the attainment of the pupils. The attendance level is good and pupils arrive on time. Pupils are happy in school, work hard and are keen to learn. These attitudes reflect the extent to which parents encourage their children to respect the school and education process. Reading books go home regularly and some of the reading records were seen to include useful comments by parents. The Reception class is especially welcoming to parents and makes particular efforts to involve parents. The parent- teacher association is supportive, arranging both fund-raising and social events. Nearly all classes have at least one parent helping in the classroom on a regular basis and more are willing to help on trips out and have helped to improve the site. Nevertheless, any general meetings held by the school are poorly attended and the

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

one-to-one meetings with teachers can have up to a quarter of the parents not coming.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

49. Outside agencies do not have a regular programme of visits or support in the school for pupils with learning difficulties. Details of pupils’ progress are insufficient, as a result of lack of up-to-date IEPs and specific small targets to measure improvements. Records are muddled. There is little recorded evidence of the involvement of parents in the process of discussing the specific needs of their children. The files of pupils with learning difficulties do not identify the details of parents’ involvement.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

50. The previous report stated that some weaknesses in leadership and management had meant that the school had not improved enough since its first inspection. Although there have been some factors such as staff absence and building work, overall there remain some concerns about leadership and management since the last report in terms of rigour, pace and organisation.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

51. The school has tackled many of the previous key issues. Nevertheless, some significant areas are not yet fully advanced or developed. Considerable improvements are seen in the overall quality of teaching. Homework is used more consistently and its use consolidates and extends pupils’ learning in lessons. The resources for reading have improved and continue to be built upon throughout the school. The school has moved forward in terms of focusing on improving standards in writing and reading and some improvement is now seen in writing. Significant improvements in standards are also noted in mathematics and improvements are seen in English and science at the end of Year 6. In the mixed age classes, however, teachers do not yet consistently match the work to all pupils’ needs effectively. Pupils’ work is marked effectively, but the quality of assessment and its use remain unsatisfactory, with the exception of

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

aspects of English and mathematics. Not all curriculum co-ordinators regularly monitor and evaluate standards, teaching and learning and the curriculum in order to raise St Mark’s CE Primary School - 21 pupils’ achievements. The headteacher and deputy headteacher observed all teachers last term and constructive feedback was given. This term the deputy headteacher has released a few co-ordinators from teaching to enable them to have an overview of their subject responsibility. For example, the literacy and numeracy co-ordinators have observed teachers. Curriculum co-ordinators changed their subject responsibilities this term.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

52. Although the headteacher shares a vision for the direction of the school with her colleagues, she does not always provide focused and rigorous leadership on all issues. The headteacher encourages, and readily supports and is very sensitive to her colleagues, but in order for them to develop, rigour must be the driving force for continued improvement. The headteacher, key staff and governors are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and they are now well placed to move the school forward. Nevertheless, the lack of efficient, effective and established whole- school systems and procedures hinders the school’s future development. The development of the co-ordinators’ monitoring role is central to raising standards and improving provision in all subjects. Assessment requires full attention across all subjects so that it informs future planning, teaching and learning. The headteacher has

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

established a good working partnership between governors, teachers, parents and pupils and, with the staff and governors, maintains close links with the local community. As a church school, the strong links with St Mark’s Parish are valued.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

53. The headteacher and deputy headteacher work well together. The deputy headteacher has analysed the most recent school results with a view to identifying weaknesses and addressing them. He is a good classroom practitioner and a good role model for staff. As a result of his professional development, the school has benefited from his research studies on data analysis, and school performance data is beginning to be analysed against national and local data and with previous cohorts. It is planned that the gathered data will be used to identify the progress pupils make. Good procedures will be necessary to enable staff to discuss and determine individual end of key stage, whole-school and statutory targets with the governing body.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

54. The school is not yet a self-evaluating school; for example, the monitoring and analysis of standards and use of information are not fully embedded in school practices. The action taken to meet the school’s targets is, therefore, unsatisfactory.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

55. The school’s development plan identifies relevant priorities for improvement and has suitable action plans. The headteacher and governors recognise that last year there was underachievement by pupils. Having identified the areas of weakness, a whole- school focus on writing resulted in some improvement. The school continues to have a whole-school focus on raising standards in literacy, specifically writing. The school’s provision in information and communication technology is, however, still limited.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

56. The role of the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) has recently been temporarily taken over by the headteacher. Aspects of leadership and management are unsatisfactory at present. The administration of the documentation is muddled and this does not support the routines of teachers and support staff and there is a lack of organisation in related documentation. There is a lack of evidence of annual reviews of the Statements of Special Educational Need being systematically completed and recorded.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

57. Overall, the provision for pupils with learning difficulties and their progress is unsatisfactory. Although there has been a change of special educational needs co- ordinator (SENCO), and this may have caused some disruption to regular programmes, the organisation of the records and register should have been St Mark’s CE Primary School - 22 continuous in line with good practice. The governors took the decision to increase the number of support staff. However, the allocation to support individual pupils’ needs is disorganised. Support staff understand that they are general support for the class and not specifically for named pupils. This does not encourage a planned focus of improvement to support pupils with learning difficulties. Some support staff have received training to support behaviour management strategies. The special needs register is inaccurate and incomplete. Pupils are listed in the wrong categories.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

Although start dates are included, the reference to review dates is incomplete. There is no reference to any action taken or records of the involvement of other agencies or parents. There is no whole-school system of monitoring the progress of pupils with learning difficulties or the effectiveness of the work of support staff.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

58. The governing body is much more engaged, informed and focused about school developments than at the time of the last inspection. The chair of governors is supportive and astute; he ensures that the governors act as critical friends. Governors visit the school regularly and are linked to individual classes. In this way, they are directly informed when making decisions. The governors meet their statutory requirement, with the exception of an aspect of the curriculum and some omissions from the prospectus and annual report for parents. They are committed, and make a valuable contribution to shaping the direction of the school. The school improvement committee has given governors real insight into school development. For example, the governors are hoping to reduce the standard number of entry from 33 to 30 pupils, this change will enable a review of the organisation of mixed age classes. Governors are

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

aware that there is still scope for some governors to be further involved in school issues.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

59. Since the last inspection, there have been staff changes. Teachers and non-teaching staff show commitment to the school and they are hardworking. Their qualifications, experience and number enable them to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. Administrative staff are efficient and ensure that the day-to-day organisation of the school is smooth. The site manager is dedicated and takes great pride in the cleanliness and appearance of the school. He is fully involved in all aspects of school life, for example extra-curricular activities and residential trips. An appropriate programme of support for teachers new to the school is being developed. Job descriptions for staff are not yet updated to reflect the recent changes in curriculum responsibilities. Performance management policy and practice are good and some teachers have successfully completed threshold requirements. All teachers regularly undertake in-service training as and when appropriate. There is a clear

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

60. Accommodation meets the requirements of the National Curriculum. The site is improved. The school is in need of exterior redecoration. The school has a multi- purpose gymnasium/assembly/dining hall and a good-sized library. Displays about the school enhance the environment considerably. Development within the school grounds enhances the pupils’ learning environment. Provision for outdoor learning for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory . There are suitable opportunities to develop skills in the outside play areas. Outside, there are dedicated hard-standing play areas and extensive grounds. Unfortunately, the sensory garden was recently vandalised.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

61. Resources are appropriate. However, the malfunction of new information and communication technology equipment has prevented pupils’ access to the curriculum and experience of using the programs available. In the Foundation Stage, there are not yet enough resources, such as scooters and outside games. There has been an improvement in reading resources in Years 1 and 2, but not in Years 3 to 6. Although there are some research opportunities, these are limited and few pupils use the library, St Mark’s CE Primary School - 23 which is an underdeveloped resource. The library was unable to be used by the school during and after the building disruption. The school makes good use of outside resources, for example the local area, visitors and parents.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

62. As at the time of the previous inspection, financial management is satisfactory. The financial planning follows the school's educational aims and priorities. The governing body, guided by the headteacher, is fully involved in preparation and monitoring of the budget. The school improvement plan identifies priority areas, though, as at the time of the last inspection, the criteria used to monitor success are not generally related to the raising of standards. The school makes appropriate use of monies additional to the main budget. However, the school does not keep a separate budget for pupils with learning difficulties and cannot demonstrate that monies supplied for that purpose are properly used. There was no financial data available during the inspection to identify how this funding was being allocated. Therefore, it was not possible to match the number of support staff financed from delegated funding or from school’s delegated

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

funds. This is an indication of inefficiency in the management of the special educational needs budget, staff allocation and purchase of resources, and therefore the strategic use of resources is also unsatisfactory.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED

63. The administrative staff provides good support to senior management and governors. Though it is weak throughout the school generally, the office makes satisfactory use of new technology with computerised administrative and financial records and appropriate Internet connections. The recommendations in the last audit report have been put in place. The principles of best value are applied in finding the cheapest supplier for both goods and services. However, the school has not yet compared the effectiveness of its work with that of other schools of a similar size and location, and, overall, the way the school applies the principles of best value is unsatisfactory. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 24

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

64. In order to raise further the standards of work and the quality of education provided, the governors, headteacher and senior managers should:

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve the attainment and rate of progress that pupils in Years 1 and 2 make by: • activating the proposed change to the standard number from 33 to 30 pupils thereby enabling a review of the organisation of the mixed age classes; • considering a more flexible approach to teaching methods and a greater level of activities more suited to all pupils and their ability and level of maturity; • building on existing good practice so that there is consistently good teaching across the school; • building on pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills; • reconsidering the level of adult support in these classes and ensuring appropriate support for those pupils with learning difficulties and for those for whom English is an additional language; (Paragraphs: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 18, 20, 22, 27, 79, 82, 83, 84, 86, 89, 94, 96, 98, 115, 119, 121, 143)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve the provision and management of special educational needs. Ensure that pupils with learning difficulties make appropriate progress by: • appointing a special educational needs co-ordinator; • ensuring that records and documentation are well organised; • ensuring efficiently organized administrations systems and ensuring that statements are reviewed, up to date and completed; • recording action undertaken and the involvement of other agencies or parents; • putting into place effective and formal whole-school procedures to monitor the progress pupils make; • allocating support staff specifically to pupils in terms of their entitlement, and monitoring the effectiveness of the work of support staff. (Paragraphs: 10, 12, 22, 26, 31, 46, 50, 57, 58, 65, 81, 87)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Build on existing assessment practices for all subjects in order to inform future planning and to enable teachers to be fully aware of what pupils can do and are capable of. Improve the quality of information for parents about the progress their children make by: • adopting assessment procedures that provide a coherent system of recording for all subjects; • ensuring that assessment is consistently and effectively used to inform future teaching and learning so as to further raise standards; • providing reports that indicate the skills and understanding acquired and having targets for improvement identified, and providing information on how well the pupils are doing in each subject compared with national expectations. (Paragraphs: 23, 42, 46, 48, 52, 86, 94 and 95, 102, 120, 146)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) Address the unsatisfactory aspects of management and leadership by: • prioritising and focusing on the issues to be addressed within a given time; • adopting efficient and effective whole-school systems and procedures to enable school development to be systematic; • monitoring and evaluating standards, teaching and learning rigorously; • Developing the co-ordinators’ role fully to include the monitoring and evaluation of standards, teaching, learning and curriculum provision. (Paragraphs: 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57) St Mark’s CE Primary School - 25 (5) Ensure that the National Curriculum for information and communication technology is fully taught by: • building on the existing subject planning; • raising teachers’ and pupils’ skills and confidence in using information and communication technology; • providing planned opportunities for pupils to develop their information and communication technology skills in different subjects;

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Increasing the opportunities to use information and communication technology so that all aspects are taught. (Paragraphs: 9, 25, 28, 121, 123, 124, 125, and 126)

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

The school is fully aware of the above key issues and these are identified in the latest school action-planning document. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 26

p.25

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

p.26

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

p.26

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 2 20 19 57 2 0 0 The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than two percentage points.

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 193

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 15+ FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 4

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 32

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 4

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 31

p.26

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.26

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 Mark’s CE Primary School - 27

p.26

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 2001 13 16 29

p.27

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.27

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

Boys 8 (15) 8 (13) 11 (18) Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 13 (13) 15 (13) 14 (13)

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 72 (88) 79 (81) 86 (97) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

p.27

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys 8 (13) 10 (16) 11 (17) Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 14 (13) 14 (13) 15 (14)

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 76 (81) 83 (91) 90 (97) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

p.27

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

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

p.27

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

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 17 14 31

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 15 (12) 15 (14) 16 (13) Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 10 (13) 10 (7) 12 (12)

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

Percentage of pupils School 81 (76) 81 (64) 90 (76) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 15 (16) 16 (16) 16 (16) Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 11 (14) 10 (15) 10 (14)

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

Percentage of pupils School 84 (91) 84(94) 84 (91) 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 Mark’s CE Primary School - 28

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 174 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 6 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 2 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 2 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table gives the number of exclusions, which m9ay be different from the number of pupils excluded.

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24.6:1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 606,381

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 11 Total expenditure 5,554,892

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 224 Expenditure per pupil 2,685

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year 57,640

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 10,000 St Mark’s CE Primary School - 29

p.28

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 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 Mark’s CE Primary School - 30

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 37 49 6 4 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 29 54 10 2 6

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 27 42 19 10 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 58 35 2 6 0

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 46 40 6 4 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 25 38 27 8 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 35 42 8 6 10

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 46 46 6 2 0

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 33 40 12 12 4

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Other issues raised by parents

Eight written returns were received. These were mainly supportive of the school, its standards, quality of leadership, teaching and curriculum offered. There were a few concerns about pupils’ progress in the mixed age classes and the lack of extra-curricular opportunities for younger children. Parents also expressed the wish for more information on the curriculum to enable them to help their children. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 31

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

65. The provision for children in the Foundation Stage is a strength of the school. Children benefit from being in a happy, calm and very caring environment. By the end of the Reception year, children are well prepared for their next stage of learning. Children are treated as individuals, whatever their ability or cultural background.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

66. The new co-ordinator has a clear understanding of the needs of young children. Her room is attractive and well thought out. Planning for the spring term is due to be finalised soon, but at the time of the inspection it was not possible to evaluate specific details about the arrangements for the mixed Year 1 and Reception class which will start in January 2003. However, other evidence suggests that the school has made good progress in ensuring that the mixed age class will have better and more equal opportunities than in 2000. The current planning is very good, showing good links between direct teaching and learning as well as times for children to explore things by themselves.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

67. The quality of teaching and learning is good overall with some very good features. Collaborative relationships between the assistants and the teacher are very good; everyone is clear about what they have to do and all staff are involved in assessing the children’s development. Children are encouraged to become independent learners. Learning is made fun and exciting by the teachers who provide interesting and stimulating ideas. Good teaching ensures that children of all abilities make good progress.

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

68. Children’s personal, social and emotional development is below average when starting school. They make good progress and achieve well by the end of their time in the Reception class, due to good teaching and learning. By end of their time in the Reception class, most demonstrate average skills in line with the expected standard for their age. Teachers keep good informal records of development. A significant strength, as at the time of the last inspection, is the excellent relationships between adults and children. This helps children to develop very positive attitudes to learning. Children grow in confidence and demonstrate independence, curiosity and good concentration. They quickly learn to separate themselves from their parents and carers due to the good links with home. Additionally, they make good progress in dressing and undressing themselves and manage their own personal toilet hygiene. Staff work to

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

make learning engaging so that the children naturally show impulsive emotions, for example when becoming very excited by seeing worms in a puddle and glittering frost on leaves in the playground. Currently there is no daily snack time, during which informal conversations and social skills can be further developed. Adults use informal opportunities to help children to learn about right, wrong and rules; good behaviour is always rewarded.

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Communication, language and literacy

69. Attainment is lower than average when children start school. Children make good progress and achieve well due to the good teaching and learning. As a result of this, they reach average standards overall by the end of their time in the Reception class. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 32 70. Children make good progress in developing their speaking and listening skills, showing progress in their ability to interact with others and by speaking more clearly and with greater confidence. They listen very well, responding to stories and discussions with interest, enthusiasm and relevant questions. The teacher and assistants place a very strong emphasis on widening children’s vocabulary.

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Communication, language and literacy

71. Good progress is made in reading and parents are helped and encouraged to support their children in this. Children quickly become familiar with a very wide range of stories and rhymes. However, the quality and range of books is only satisfactory, as many are quite old. Planning shows good development of phonic skills. In a very good lesson, children learn a great deal in the time available. The teacher helped the children to read along with a big book called ‘Bear and the Scary Night’. While doing this she talked about letter sounds in words, while also helping them to understand the story and the different characters. Following this, the children were able to retell the story and make their own little books. Children’s understanding of how to write is lower than average when starting school; many are only just beginning to distinguish between print and pictures in their own work. They make good progress and soon understand

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

that writing is made up of letters and words. Frequent practice of writing, both formally in lessons and in play situations is helping them to achieve well. As a result of this, children understand that writing is a tool for communicating. Progress in developing knowledge about sounds and letter names is good and is regularly assessed. Adults often write for the children to help them to see how to improve and develop; this is good practice. Very good progress is made in pencil control. Writing areas are suitably organised but are not as attractive as they could be. Information and communication technology was not supporting learning during the inspection and this is a weakness.

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Mathematical development

72. Children begin their schooling with lower than average understanding of numbers, counting, shapes and measurement. Progress and achievement are at least good. Children confidently grasp how to count and are beginning to learn about addition. They have a growing understanding about shapes and measurement. Mathematical language is developing very well and work is suitably planned for different abilities. The quality of teaching and learning is good, with some very good features, including the modification of the numeracy strategy and opportunities to do practical activities. For example, the children loved sorting out the toys in order of height. This involved much discussion, comparing and negotiation as four children worked together. In another lesson, effective use of resources helped children to count objects and accurately match number cards to them. Here, there was much thinking and correcting

p.32

Mathematical development

before all of the cards were used correctly. Number rhymes and stories are used well to help children with their counting and ordering. The teacher encourages children to try things for themselves. For example, they made shapes using dough and then they had to experiment with bricks to make models.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

73. When starting school, children have a broadly average knowledge and understanding of the world, although some find it hard to talk about this with precise words and sentences. By the end of the Reception class, a higher than average proportion of children will reach an average standard for their age due to the high quality teaching and learning. Work is very well planned so that children can develop a growing understanding about their lives and the world around them. Skills using information and communication technology resources are planned for, but were not seen during the inspection. The teacher has improved the range of construction apparatus, but St Mark’s CE Primary School - 33 there are too few resources, such as high quality farm sets, dolls and prams. Children use construction apparatus with growing confidence and enjoy making models, such as lighthouses and rockets, linked to stories which they have been reading. A

p.32

Knowledge and understanding of the world

particular strength is the daily walk, called ‘whatever the weather’. During this time, children are encouraged to find out by looking, touching, listening and discussing. Following this, the teacher writes in a big book about what they experience each day. This is very good practice, as it makes reading and writing fun. For example, they wrote: "We could feel the power of the wind on our faces and in our hair". There is also a special sensory garden, which is used to widen children’s understanding of growth and nature, but, sadly, this has been vandalised. Very good work on light is helping children to learn about science in an exciting way.

p.33

Physical development

74. When starting school, children show lower than average skills in using their hands when balancing but are generally confident and skilled in their whole-body movements. They make very good progress in developing eye and hand control, especially with pencils. Achievement is good. Many will achieve what is expected as average by the end of the Reception year. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Hand skills are developed through a wide range of activities. During the inspection, children were given plenty of help with holding pencils and in learning how to cut out. Planning is good overall. There are suitable opportunities to develop skills in the outside play areas, including riding tricycles and climbing. However, there are not yet enough resources, such as scooters and outside games. Further challenges, such as balancing and changing direction and avoiding obstacles, are underdeveloped outside

p.33

Physical development

but are suitably planned for during lessons in the school hall, when children use the apparatus. The teacher and assistants sometimes miss the opportunity to develop language, such as over, under, through, beneath. Overall, the good use of time means that children can try all sorts of activities on a regular and frequent basis, allowing skills to build up progressively.

p.33

Creative development

75. When starting school children have lower than average creative skills. By the end of their time in the Reception class children make good progress and achieve well. The quality of teaching and learning is good overall. Teachers understand about this area of work and have good plans that help children to grow in confidence and to try many new things. Children enjoy singing along with the guitar as the teacher teaches them many new songs, such as ‘Clap your hands and wriggle your fingers’. Furthermore, children develop their imagination by experimenting with sounds using a range of instruments. Opportunities to get up and move imaginatively to the music are planned for in the school hall. Role-play is suitably organised to foster children’s imagination, but limited resources and intervention by adults sometimes limit the progress which children make in creating stories and characters, such as when children were in the

p.33

Creative development

post office play area. Painting is of a satisfactory standard, but opportunities to mix colours and use a wide range of brushes are limited. Some wax crayons are too chunky and unsuitable for fine colouring in of pictures. In a painting session, intervention by the assistant helped children to imagine and paint night-time pictures, but although a good picture was used to inspire the children, no mention was made of the artist, Van Gogh. One lesson was very good when the children made imaginative and very individual clay owls. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 34

p.33

ENGLISH

76. The percentage of pupils attaining Level 2 and above and the percentage of pupils attaining the higher Level 3 in the 2002 end of Year 2 tests was well below the national average in reading and in line with this for writing. In terms of all the pupils in the year group, attainment in reading fell significantly in 2002, with most pupils over a term behind the average for all schools nationally and with girls further behind than boys. Reading results have fluctuated year by year but have remained stable over the last four years. Attainment in writing has remained stable for boys whilst the girls’ standards have improved over the last four years. Pupils do better in mathematics than in English.

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ENGLISH

77. In the 2002 Year 6 tests, the percentage of pupils attaining Level 4 and above in English was above the national average whilst the proportion attaining the higher Level 5 was below. In terms of the year group as a whole, results have fallen to the national average over five years. In 2002, boys achieved better results than girls. However, there has been a significant improvement in girls’ results, addressing most of the underachievement of 2001. Standards of writing are in line with similar schools but reading is well below. Pupils did better in mathematics and science than in English.

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ENGLISH

78. The pupils’ attainment in lessons reflects these results, with overall attainment by the end of Year 2 below national averages. Progress is unsatisfactory in Years 1 and 2. The main reason for this is the lack of support provided for pupils with learning difficulties and for those pupils for whom English is an additional language. Most Year 1 pupils, in the mixed age classes, make slow progress and often there is insufficiently challenging work for higher-attaining pupils. By the end of Year 6, most pupils’ attainment in speaking and listening skills and in writing is in line with national averages, whilst reading is below. There is insufficient provision for pupils with learning difficulties and their attainment and progress are unsatisfactory.

p.34

ENGLISH

79. By the end of Years 2 and 6, speaking and listening skills are in line with national averages. Standards have fallen since the last report. A principal reason for this in Years 1 and 2 is the lead taken by Year 2 girls in most discussions. Listening skills are generally better than speaking skills and there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to develop language skills, particularly Year 1 pupils. By the end of Year 6, most pupils listen attentively but do not always speak clearly. In some classes, teachers tend to ask questions that require brief responses and this results in pupils’ general lack of fluency in their spoken language. Most girls speak more clearly and articulately than most boys.

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ENGLISH

80. Reading standards are below national expectations by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. A reason for this is the inadequate support provided for pupils with learning difficulties and lower-attaining pupils throughout the school. Although there is regular sounding of spelling practice, there are insufficient opportunities to consolidate this work in individual and group work. In Years 1 and 2, girls take the lead in class reading, and in Years 3 to 6; it is only the higher-attaining pupils who read fluently. All pupils find difficulty understanding their reading. There is insufficient individual support provided by staff for lower-attaining readers, particularly in Years 1 and 2, and there is inconsistent management of reading in Years 3 to 6. For example, not all pupils have reading records; in some classes, pupils’ independent reading is not monitored to ensure that reading levels are appropriate or that pupils are reading sufficiently widely.

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ENGLISH

Reading methods are unsatisfactory and this is an area for further development. There are sufficient resources to support reading in Years 1 and 2 but resources are barely adequate in Years 3 to 6. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 35 81. By the end of Year 2, attainment in writing remains below national expectations, but by the end of Year 6, attainment is in line with national expectations. There is a general improvement in writing throughout the school since the last report and a reason for this is the priority the school has given to writing over the past two years. In Years 1 and 2, most teachers provide pupils with good supportive methods that enable Year 2 pupils to write accurate and well-ordered sequences of sentences. Higher-attaining pupils make good progress but for many pupils there is too much copying. Progress through Years 3 to 6 is good. By the end of Year 6, most pupils are independent writers and

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ENGLISH

higher-attaining pupils write confidently in a range of forms. There are good methods to develop structure and style in particular. There is good use of drafting and pupils regularly use dictionaries to improve their spelling and vocabulary. A particular strength lies in the good opportunities provided for pupils to apply what they have learned in literacy lessons to their writing in other subjects. Examples are: writing reports of sports matches, personal responses to art and persuasive writing in travel brochures. Teachers’ positive marking supports the development of writing.

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ENGLISH

82. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. It ranges from satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, to good with some excellent teaching in Years 3 to 6. Lessons are well planned and most teachers use the structure of the National Literacy Strategy. In those lessons where the structures of the strategy are less clear pupils do not make as much progress. Most teachers explain learning objectives clearly so that pupils can take some responsibility for their own learning. Teachers plan satisfactory sequences of lessons. For example, in Years 1 and 2 teachers develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of sounds, building words as lessons progress through the week. In Years 3 to 6, teachers and pupils write together. In one class the teacher is developing the style of opening paragraphs of stories, improving the spelling, vocabulary and general style as the week proceeds. Teachers establish good relationships with pupils

p.35

ENGLISH

and class management is good in most lessons. There are imaginative and creative approaches to teaching. For example, in Key Stage 1, pupils act the story of Billy Goat Gruff, learning to retell the story through group drama. In a Year 1 and 2 class, pupils have learned to enjoy, understand and appreciate a wide range of poetry. In one lesson they explored the meaning of the poem and wrote similar poems of their own. The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Teachers choose stories that encourage the development of these personal dimensions; they encourage pupils to share ideas and work co-operatively together. There are opportunities to appreciate poetry and make responses to art. Most pupils behave well in class. They try hard and concentrate well. Their positive attitudes contribute to their learning.

p.35

ENGLISH

83. Less successful is the ability of teachers to provide equally well for all pupils in mixed year and mixed ability classes in Years 1 and 2. A consequence is that higher- and lower-attaining pupils are sometimes provided with activities which do not match their ability levels sufficiently well. In some lessons, pupils are given activities that do not consolidate and extend the earlier class teaching. Although there has been an improvement in tracking pupils’ progress since the last inspection, with teachers tracking individual pupils’ progress and setting targets more accurately, the procedures in place do not allow teachers to assess pupils’ knowledge and skills systematically. As a consequence, assessment is not being used to adapt lessons sufficiently well to the needs of individuals and groups. In some classes, there are pupils with behavioural difficulties. In these classes much of the classroom assistants’ time is

p.35

ENGLISH

taken in class management, rather than being available to support pupils in their group activities. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 36 84. The leadership and management of English are good. There have been a number of improvements since the last report. The writing initiative has raised standards in both key stages. The quality of teaching has improved with the regular monitoring of teaching. Effective strategies have been introduced for developing literacy in subjects across the curriculum, and imaginative approaches to writing have been established as part of teaching in other subjects. There has been an improvement in girls’ attainment in Years 3 to 6. There are areas for further development. Strategies for the promotion of reading are unsatisfactory throughout the school. There has been an improvement in reading resources in Years 1 and 2, but not in Years 3 to 6. Although there are some research opportunities, these are limited and few pupils use the library,

p.35

ENGLISH

which is an underdeveloped resource. There is unsatisfactory provision for pupils with learning difficulties throughout the school and for pupils for whom English is an additional language in Years 1 and 2. There are two curriculum areas for further development: to ensure that a teaching programme for information and computer technology and for drama become an integral part of literacy planning. Overall there has been a satisfactory improvement since the last inspection.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

85. By Year 6, pupils’ attainment in mathematics is above average. In 2002, average point scores were well above average due to a very high percentage of pupils attaining the higher Level 5. Findings of the inspection indicate that standards remain above average, but a lower proportion of pupils are on target to achieve the higher levels. However, standards remain above average due to good teaching and the good progress the pupils have made in Years 3 to 6.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

86. By Year 2, pupils’ attainment in mathematics is below average. This is an improvement since last year when test results showed the school to be well below average for Year 2. Pupils make good progress in their Reception year and achieve average standards. This good progress has not been maintained and achievement in Years 1 and 2 is still not high enough. This is mainly due to disruption to classes because of staffing difficulties, a higher proportion of pupils with special educational needs and the organisation of classes into mixed age groups.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

87. By Year 6, pupils have very good numeracy skills; they can change fractions to decimals, and perform complex long multiplication sums. They confidently translate shapes in four quadrants using a variety of factors. They have a good understanding of geometry, knowing how to work out the perimeters and areas of compound shapes and the essential properties of two-dimensional shapes. They are less confident when handling data and their information and communication technology skills in this subject are very limited due to the lack of a suitable programme of work.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

88. By Year 2, pupils know the sequence of numbers to 20, count in tens, and are beginning to perform simple addition and subtraction tasks. They know odd and even numbers and can use their number skills to play board games. They can also identify simple two-dimensional shapes and make cubes using plastic shapes. However, in all these activities they are working at levels below those expected for their age. They are less able to meet the requirements for their age to use mental strategies to solve problems involving money and measures or to explain why their answers are correct. Very few pupils are working at the higher levels.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

89. Between Years 3 and 6, pupils make good progress. Higher-attaining pupils are given tasks that are more challenging by their teachers and use mathematical language confidently. For example, Year 4 pupils talk about the properties of equilateral and isosceles triangles well; Year 5 pupils plot coordinates on a grid, and understand the St Mark’s CE Primary School - 37 radius and diameter of circles, whilst Year 6 pupils calculate the perimeter of complex shapes. Lower-attaining pupils make good progress due to the good support they receive from teaching assistants. For example, in Year 4, they identify simple shapes and in Year 5 use ‘geo-boards’ to design triangles. A clear indication of the good progress they make is that very few pupils by Year 6 are working at below expected levels.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

90. The quality of teaching is satisfactory with some good and very good teaching in Years 5 and 6. All classes follow the structure of the numeracy strategy and nearly all teachers demonstrated satisfactory organisational skills. They also manage behaviour well and show good skills in demonstrating work and activities to their pupils. When teaching is good, pupils receive a higher level of challenge, the pace of questioning is good and there is excitement in the learning. For example, in a Year 6 lesson, the teacher encouraged pupils to have practical application to their thinking skills and in Year 5 the teacher used challenging questioning techniques and high level mathematical language which encouraged pupils to tackle their work with enthusiasm.

p.37

MATHEMATICS

91. When teaching, whilst satisfactory, is less effective, this is directly related to a lack of clear learning intentions. Pupils are not using informal methods of working in order to show how they reached their answers. There is also a distinct lack of numeracy targets for pupils with learning difficulties and this is having a negative impact on the progress of this group of pupils.

p.37

MATHEMATICS

92. The school has improved standards in this subject since the last inspection. This is mainly due to the provision of staff training on the teaching of numeracy and the scrutiny of test results to define areas of weakness. Although the school sets appropriate targets for end of year results and challenging targets for Year 6, the school does not have effective assessment strategies in order to plan the next stage of learning. For example, are not given individual targets that would help them to improve. The co-ordination of the subject is unsatisfactory. The co-ordinator has made good efforts to improve resources and increase testing in all year groups. However, she has insufficient time to ensure the progression of pupils’ achievements in all classes and effectively report back on the quality of teaching. In addition, an agreed framework for learning (scheme of work) is still being modified. This particularly affects

p.37

SCIENCE

93. Standards in science are below average by Year 2 and average by Year 6. This indicates that pupils make satisfactory progress by the end of Year 6. Since the last inspection, this represents a decline in standards for pupils in Year 2 but a significant improvement for pupils in Year 6. The main reason for this is the improvement in teaching for the older pupils.

p.37

SCIENCE

94. By the end of Year 6, pupils know about the life cycle of seeds, how plants grow and can name the parts of a plant correctly. They have an understanding of how to classify plants and animals using their knowledge of the different characteristics. Recently, pupils have started to learn about microbes and the associated links with scientists, such as Edward Jenner, and his investigations into preventing diseases through vaccinations. Pupils also have an awareness of when to use correct scientific language and to record information on a simple graph. However, they have limited experience or understanding of how to predict, to set up a fair test situation or to carry out a series of experiments using detailed observations. Although all pupils make satisfactory progress, this gap in the science curriculum is restricting pupils’ progress St Mark’s CE Primary School - 38 in understanding fully the wide range of information and facts that are presented to

p.37

SCIENCE

95. By the end of Year 2, pupils have started to observe seeds of different plants and to name them. They have collected records of themselves when babies, recorded current personal details and linked these to exploring the five senses of sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Pupils have also recorded simple classifications of plants and animals using basic facts. In addition, they can name materials such as wood, metal, glass and plastic using hard, smooth, rough and soft as describing words. However, a number of gaps in the science curriculum prevent pupils reaching higher standards. There is little opportunity provided for pupils to be challenged to question their recorded data. For example, when they collected data about themselves as babies there was no record of how they recognised the main differences between then and now and the stages of growth. Overall, there is very little understanding of setting up

p.38

SCIENCE

an investigation and recognising when a test is fair. There is a lack of first-hand experiences, limited recording techniques and few opportunities to question results; these all affect pupils’ progress. Another factor influencing the low standards in science has been the lack of regular teachers for half of the pupils in Year 2 this term. As a consequence, these pupils have made very little progress. However, during the inspection, the current teacher has raised pupils’ interest and achievement, which was evident in a lesson about senses.

p.38

SCIENCE

96. Pupils’ responses in all lessons are consistently good. They behave well, work co- operatively in groups, and enjoy the opportunity to question each other and to answer confidently. They maintain their interest and concentration, particularly in the older classes.

p.38

SCIENCE

97. The quality of teaching overall is good. The following strengths where teaching was good in Year 6 encouraged pupils’ interest and concentration. In addition, pupils’ progress was better because of: • a range of teaching strategies involving paired discussions, encouraging all pupils to respond with suggestions, recording all their ideas, and questioning of individual pupils; • timed targets set for the pupils; • good use of challenging scientific language; • well-prepared resources including clips from a video on microbes; • high expectations of pupils’ concentration and interest; • a good pace to the lesson, which maintained pupils’ enjoyment and involvement.

p.38

SCIENCE

98. In all lessons, there were good links with literacy development. Teachers used scientific language, question and answer sessions with pupils and encouraged the correct use of scientific language in pupils’ books. However, the lack of regular first- hand experiences and provision for pupils to carry out investigations prevents the rate of progress being higher.

p.38

SCIENCE

99. The leadership and management of science are underdeveloped. The co-ordinator has been in post for two years but has not yet implemented a high level of monitoring of teaching or standards. Resources have been audited and these are adequate to teach the subject. The recently purchased resources for supporting the teaching of investigative science have not yet influenced standards in this area. The assessment practices for science are also lacking and there is a need for whole-school agreement and implementation. However, the co-ordinator is enthusiastic and well prepared to improve all these areas. She has attended co-ordinator training courses, including one for monitoring of teaching in classrooms, and investigated sources of support and St Mark’s CE Primary School - 39 exemplification of good practice. This indicates a potential for improvement in the management of this subject.

p.38

ART AND DESIGN

100. Standards in art and design lessons are at the level expected for pupils at the end of Years 2 and 6. Pupils with learning difficulties and those of higher attainment make satisfactory progress because they are well supported. The judgement on standards achieved in the last inspection was that many pupils attained standards above national expectations. Work of a high standard is on display but in lessons observed, much of the work was at an early stage and it is too soon to judge if it is likely to be above expectations. Some excellent large-scale drawings are displayed, such as large fruit and vegetables, a textile Jubilee cloak, and weaving and collage studies.

p.39

ART AND DESIGN

101. By the end of Year 6, pupils build on their knowledge of shape and pattern using information and communication technology. They illustrate play scripts and depict storyboards accurately. In Year 3 pupils develop and improve their critical skills when comparing paintings by influential artists such as Gainsborough and Hockney. They decode the compositions well and with insight. Pupils in Year 4 build on their knowledge of colour mixing when creating firework pictures using chalks and pastels. Year 5 pupils explore the use of colour, shape, space and form and select suitable materials for a textured abstract. They learn about and are influenced by the work of O’Keefe, Gaudi and Fassett. They produce exciting wool and thread collages. Pupils use specific terms with understanding and knowledge. Year 6 pupils question and make thoughtful observations whilst life drawing. They model for each other and

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ART AND DESIGN

discuss the similarities and differences in their hands. They try and depict movement and make improvements to their drawings. They have a good developing awareness of how different artists such as Archuperko, Giacometti, and Riley have interpreted the human form using different media such as bronze, acrylic and film .

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ART AND DESIGN

102. By the end of Year 2 pupils recognise and understand that pictures in books are illustrations. They illustrate their favourite books. They explore blending and mixing colours when painting rainbows. In Reception pupils discuss and talk about the features of their clay owls and how to improve them. Some undergo research using a big book as a reference point. Pupils develop their manipulative skills using small tools. They also select and use colours when making a bottle template.

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ART AND DESIGN

103. Teaching and learning is good overall; occasionally it is very good. The judgement made at the last inspection was that teaching was good. Teachers are secure in their knowledge and understanding of the subject. Lessons are well planned and an appropriate range of techniques, media and tools are used. Pupils with learning needs, those with English as an additional language and higher-attaining pupils are all well supported. The use of sketchbooks is clearly established in the upper end of the school, although there is greater scope for them to be used as ongoing ideas-books throughout the school. Expectations of what pupils can do are usually good. Pupils learn effectively and they are encouraged to try out their ideas.

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ART AND DESIGN

104. Literacy skills are reinforced to consolidate pupils’ understanding and pupils use specific subject language with understanding. Opportunities for discussion and exchange of ideas in lessons are good features, particularly in the older classes. Information and communication technology contributes, but not prominently, to pupils’ knowledge and understanding. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 40 105. Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are good. They enjoy art and are often enthused during lessons and they work hard. They share equipment and media and readily exchange ideas to help one another.

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ART AND DESIGN

106. The co-ordinator has changed this term. The role of the co-ordinator is undeveloped. The new co-ordinator plans to offer guidance to colleagues when possible. She is aware of the areas for future development, such as creating a central resource, developing the coherent use of sketchbooks, increasing opportunities to use information and communication technology and developing assessment. Curriculum planning provides a good balance of investigating and making and studies of art from different periods. However, evidence of art from different cultures is not as prominent. The contribution of art and design to pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Opportunities to develop critical awareness and evaluative skills are particularly good in Years 5 and 6. The co-ordinator does not see other teachers’ plans to check on what is being taught, nor has the co-ordinator had

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ART AND DESIGN

the opportunity to monitor attainment, progress, or teaching. Resources are generally good. The judgements on standards and teaching are similar to those at the time of the last inspection; improvement has been maintained.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

107. Standards are in line with national expectations for pupils by the end of Years 2 and 6. This is a similar picture to standards at the last inspection. By Year 6, pupils have a secure understanding of the design process as demonstrated by the display of work linked with the parent-teacher association project of improving the play facilities in the playground. Pupils have made satisfactory progress throughout the school. In Year 5, pupils have linked their design and making activities with making musical instruments. They have examined the characteristics of different materials in order to choose the most appropriate for the different sounds produced by different instruments. In both Years 4 and 5, pupils have recorded evaluations of their first designs and indicated how they could improve them. In Year 3, pupils have linked healthy eating with the design technology work. They have made bread, sandwiches and discussed the

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

different varieties of bread, culminating in a tasting of different sandwiches. They made evaluations of likes and dislikes and of the suitable packaging used. Pupils with learning difficulties were able to make similar progress due to the support of a classroom assistant.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

108. By Year 2, pupils know how to make simple puppets with moving parts. They use scissors carefully, cutting out card and using paper fasteners to enable the arms and legs to move. They also used a hole punch successfully. When the puppets were assembled, pupils used a variety of materials to decorate them. Pupils have some understanding of the evaluation process and were able to suggest simple ideas for improvement.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

109. In all lessons, pupils worked co-operatively, enjoying the making process and confident when explaining what they had completed. They all understood the tasks and maintained good concentration throughout the lesson.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

110. Teaching is satisfactory overall. Pupils know what to do as a result of learning objectives shared with them by the teacher. Resources are sufficient to enable pupils to complete their tasks successfully. In one Year 1 and Year 2 lesson, pupils were encouraged to be both independent and to support each other with suggestions and sharing equipment. In one lesson, support staff successfully encouraged pupils with learning difficulties to make similar progress to other pupils. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 41 111. The co-ordinator manages resources successfully and monitors standards through observations of finished work at assemblies and looking at displays. However, this has not been a high priority in the school development plan and no direct observation of teaching has taken place to judge the quality. Very little release time has been allocated over the past year to carry out these tasks.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

112. By the end of Year 2, pupils’ attainment is in line with national expectations. Most pupils make satisfactory progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and those for whom English is an additional language make unsatisfactory progress because there is insufficient additional support for them. These pupils are often given the same activities as average and higher-attaining pupils and find they do not match their capabilities. In other instances, the attention of learning assistants is focussed on pupils with behavioural difficulties. In Years 1 and 2, pupils learn to observe the differences between old and new toys, the difference between old and new kitchen furniture and appliances and in this way develop a sense of chronology. In geography, pupils draw maps of their route to school, observe local features such as churches and the waterfall and place them on their maps.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

113. By the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment is in line with national expectations in geography and above in history. Pupils create well-structured and well-researched projects in history and geography. Some use the Internet for research and some use word processing skills to produce well-presented projects. Year 4 pupils know about King Henry VIII; they research his life and times using reference books. In Year 5, pupils study the Victorian period. They understand some of the social class differences by studying life below and above stairs. They compare life then with now and explain the differences in education. In Year 6, pupils study the social history of Ancient Greece and, in a geographical project, compare it by developing their own travel brochures of Greece as a holiday destination. In geography, Year 3 pupils learn about Australia and have a satisfactory knowledge of some of the main features. Year 4

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

pupils continue to make progress in the development of mapping skills. They draw maps and add grid references. 114. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall in both subjects. It is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 and good in Years 3 to 6, with some very good teaching. Teachers establish good relationships with pupils and use pupils’ experiences effectively as starting points for learning. For example, teachers use the local area as a starting point for map work and a pupil explains his Australian holiday by sharing his journal with the class. Lessons are well planned, particularly in history, where pupils build a picture of life in Victorian England or of Ancient Greece, week by week. A strength of teaching is the good range of appropriate activities provided. In Years 1 and 2, teachers have a very good display of old and new toys for pupils to see and touch and discuss together. In Years 3 to 6, pupils watch a video excerpt of an Ancient Greek debate and plan their

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

own. An example of good practice is the link made between drama and life in a Victorian household. Pupils act a number of roles: individually (the role of a housemaid from ‘below stairs’), in pairs (chimney sweep and boy) and in groups to create family photographs from ‘above stairs’. 115. The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good in both history and geography. For example, in Years 1 and 2, pupils bring their own toys to school and explain how much they mean to them. Pupils research together, finding out about the local area or the life of the Tudors. They discuss the inequalities of life in Victorian England and the merits of democracy. Pupils enjoy history and geography; they try hard and concentrate well. Their positive attitudes contribute significantly to their learning. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 42 116. There is some inconsistent teaching in both subjects. Teaching is less successful

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

where teachers’ knowledge is insecure. In these instances, teachers do not always consolidate and extend pupils’ learning or set sufficiently high challenges for pupils. There are lessons where the same activities are provided for all pupils and the activities are not well matched to pupils’ capabilities. This affects pupils with learning difficulties in particular and, to a lesser extent, higher-attaining pupils who require more rigorous challenges. The last report criticised the number of worksheets used in history and geography. There are still too many used in some classes.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

117. The management and leadership of history and geography are unsatisfactory. In both subjects there have been recent changes in the leadership and procedures, and routines have yet to be fully re-established. There are sufficient resources and these are satisfactorily organised. There are some priorities listed on action plans but these are incomplete; for example, the development of an assessment system and in-service training for teachers are missing. There is insufficient support for teachers. For example, schemes of work are incomplete and lack coherency, policy statements are not related specifically to the needs of the school and there is no monitoring of teaching. Improvement since the last inspection is unsatisfactory.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

118. Standards are below national expectations throughout the school. This is a decline in standards since the last inspection when they were satisfactory. This is due to a number of factors: • malfunction of new equipment, preventing pupils’ access to the curriculum and experience of using the programs available; • gaps in the provision of ‘developing ideas and making things happen’ section of the National Curriculum; • the lack of full use of the Internet and e-mails; • the staff training programme is not complete; • the lack of direct teaching of information and communication technology using the new equipment until very recently.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

119. However, from the few lessons observed, the planned coverage of the curriculum and the display of pupils’ work, there is some evidence of the commitment of the staff and the provision of opportunities to improve standards in information and communication technology.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

120. In Year 6, pupils have a secure knowledge about word processing. They use this skill to produce all the public notices in the school, compile reports of school activities such as sports reports and suggestions from the school council meetings. The pupils in Year 6 have very limited experiences this term in the aspects of information and communication technology using CD-ROMs, Internet, e-mails, programming and sequencing instructions and the use of data and spreadsheets. Pupils in Years 3 to 5 make satisfactory progress in developing skills of word processing starting with knowledge of the different fonts and colours available to using the keyboard to draft poems for display. The word processing activities link with the literacy programme of work to support pupils’ writing skills. In Year 5, some pupils have the skills to use the Internet to access information to support research skills. A few pupils had the

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

knowledge to save and print their work but could not as computers were not linked up to a printer. Pupils in Year 4 have some experience of using art and design programs to create recurring patterns, moving them about the screen and experimenting with different shapes. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 43 121. Due to the lack of sufficient working computers, many pupils did not have the opportunity to practise the skills presented in the lesson. Pupils in Year 3 know about the usefulness of using appropriate text and graphics to communicate a message to other people, such as when designing a poster for the school disco. However, pupils had no access to computers to experiment with text or pictures. They also know how to word process and have linked this skill to reporting on the Gainsborough picture of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, using different fonts and sizes of text.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

122. By Year 2, pupils have a general knowledge of how to operate a variety of electrical equipment and how to follow simple instructions in sequence. When using a computer, they know about using different size letters, colours, and that you can print from the display on screen. They have very little other experience of using a keyboard and following screen instructions, using a variety of tables to record and display collected data, or of the saving and retrieval systems. There is no evidence of information and communication technology being used to support other subjects in the curriculum.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

123. Although some teaching of information and communication technology was observed, there was insufficient to make a secure overall judgement. From the lessons seen, teachers are using appropriate subject language and have sufficient knowledge of the subject to improve pupils’ skills and understanding. They identify learning objectives, which are shared with the pupils. This encourages pupils to maintain concentration and to try to complete the tasks. Teachers organise pupils to work in pairs and this is a successful strategy. However, the available resources are often limited and this causes some restlessness in pupils who are unable to see the screen clearly when the teacher is demonstrating. In addition, resources do not encourage sufficient practice time for pupils to make better progress.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

124. The development of the co-ordinator’s role has been restricted. Only very recently has she had release time to support colleagues and teach information and communication technology throughout the school. There has been no monitoring of teaching before this term. There is still no agreed system for recording pupils’ progress and assessing their knowledge and understanding in information and communication technology and this was reported as an issue in the last inspection.

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MUSIC

125. Standards in music are at the expected level for pupils by the end of Years 2 and 6. Pupils with learning needs, pupils with English as an additional language and higher- attaining pupils make satisfactory progress. The judgement on standards achieved is better than that made at the time of the last inspection. Singing in assembly is satisfactory and pupils are building on their repertoire of familiar and new hymns and songs.

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MUSIC

126. By the end of Year 2, pupils recognise different instruments. They name them and know that they make different sounds. They explore sounds and clap together in unison following the teacher directions. Pupils successfully follow the beat, change and switch the beat. They understand what a beat is and follow a simple rhythmic pattern. When singing they play instruments and perform to others and control the level of noise they make. St Mark’s CE Primary School - 44 127. By the end of Year 6 pupils build on their knowledge and understanding of tempo and dynamics. Listening to the ‘Glitter ship landing’ they read the music with increasing accuracy and recognise the value of different notes. Some know that there are 3 beats to a bar and identify when the music speeds up and slows down. Others understand what a coda is. They follow the musical score with insight, listen to and clap to the beat. Pupils also know the differences between chorus and verse.

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MUSIC

128. The quality of teaching in lessons is satisfactory. Teachers ensure that pupils are given a balance of music from different cultures and periods. For example, in assembly they are taught about different music such as Aboriginal and European classical; however, this could be developed further in terms of raising pupils’ awareness of different musical forms. A good balance of hands-on music making and listening development is taught. Teaching is secure, lessons are well paced and learning is often made to be fun. Pupils’ knowledge is consolidated through good questioning and prompting. Pupils build on the knowledge and skills learned previously and their progress is satisfactory. Lessons are very well planned. Learning objectives are shared and are consolidated with pupils consistently. Thirteen pupils receive instrumental music lessons. Many play recorders and they have opportunities to play to a wider audience.

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MUSIC

129. Pupils’ literacy skills are effectively developed through constant use and explanation of key words and phrases. Numeracy skills are built upon when counting beats and recognising note values. There was very limited evidence of the use of information and communication technology.

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MUSIC

130. Pupils’ attitudes are satisfactory; they enjoy singing and playing instruments. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is enhanced through their musical experiences. Pupils work co-operatively.

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MUSIC

131. The co-ordinators for music have changed this term and as yet the role of the co- ordinators is undeveloped. The co-ordinators are developing and adapting planning that better suits the needs of pupils. They understand that assessment and the greater use of information and communication technology are areas for further development. As yet, they have not had the opportunity to formally monitor standards, teaching and learning. Opportunities to perform to a wider audience such as in the local community are good. For example, the school has a successful choir and recorder groups, and there is a popular end of summer term concert. Pupils also attend the candlelight carol service at St Mark’s and are involved in music festivals.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

132. Standards in physical education are in line with the national expectations for pupils in Years 2 and 6. This is a similar picture of standards to that when the school was last inspected.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

133. By Year 6, pupils know about the need to warm up before physical activity and the necessary care and safety issues to think about. In gymnastics, they have good co- ordination and they use all parts of their bodies to express different events from Olympic games competitions. These included hurdles, long jumping, running, boxing and hammer throwing. They developed these movements into a smooth and ‘seamless’ sequence including good starting and finishing positions. Pupils used good levels of critical comment on each other’s performance, which led to improvements. Some pupils achieved above expectations as a result of this evaluation. In games activities pupils are developing skills in football, netball and hockey. These are supported by after-school clubs and competitions against other local schools. Although swimming lessons were not seen, the planned timetable ensures that a majority of St Mark’s CE Primary School - 45

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

pupils reach the expected standards. The school takes part in local swimming galas and holds its own gala each year. These extra activities encourage pupils to reach satisfactory standards.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

134. Pupils in Year 2 have a full range of the physical education curriculum planned during the year. Only gymnastics was seen during the inspection. Pupils know about the need to warm up before further activity. They are very active and enthusiastic about the lesson. Pupils use the space well, balance and hold positions showing good control and are beginning to build these activities into simple sequences. Pupils are confident when demonstrating in pairs but have few opportunities to make constructive criticism to support improvements. They are learning how to move equipment about the room carefully.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

135. Pupils have consistently good attitudes to their physical education activities. They show enthusiasm and react energetically in all activities. In gymnastics, pupils demonstrate good levels of concentration and creative thought, as in a Year 6 lesson when pupils worked hard in pairs to improve their sequence of movements. In addition, they made clear and informative comments about their own and others’ performances. In all lessons, pupils listen very carefully to instructions and react well to improve the standard of their movements. In a Year 2 lesson, pupils show how considerate and careful they are in addition to being well behaved.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

136. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, with examples of very good teaching in Year 6. All teachers present the learning objectives to pupils and recall the main focus of previous lessons well. Teachers have good control and management of pupils, including those with challenging behaviour. They pay good attention to health and safety issues and the pace of lessons is generally good. Pupils are encouraged to improve, lessons are interesting and well planned and this supports good levels of concentration, activity and involvement.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

137. The co-ordinator has promoted a wide range of physical activities including after- school clubs. Personally, she is involved in the local schools’ sports association promoting sports activities for all pupils. Overall, the leadership and management are satisfactory. However, there has been no monitoring of teaching during the last year.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

138. Standards in religious education are in line with the expectations of the Kent Agreed Syllabus at Year 2 and Year 6. This is a slightly different picture from that at the time of the last inspection when standards were judged to be above expectations by Year 6. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 have learned about the Bible characters and have a clear knowledge of parables such as the lost son returned (The Prodigal Son) and the shepherd caring for his sheep (Christ caring for his followers). In their recorded work and displays, children have a sound understanding of people who help us and take care of us. This work provided good links with other areas of the curriculum such as the personal, social and health education programme. By Years 5 and 6 pupils have studied a good range of Christian religious themes. For example: Year 3 • The Lord’s Prayer • Christian and Jewish beliefs and rituals such as: - A baby’s christening and bar

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

mitzvah Year 4 • The place of music in world religions • School rules St Mark’s CE Primary School - 46 Year 5 • The life of famous people: - Thomas Beckett and Dr. Barnardo • Religious artefacts such as stained glass windows Year 6 • Members of a Christian family • Religious writings

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

139. In all their work, pupils make satisfactory progress and demonstrate that they have a clear understanding of the aims of the school to be a Christian community. When pupils receive better teaching, they respond well, demonstrating an analytical approach to their work by Years 5 and 6. For example: in a Year 5 lesson, about Dr Barnardo, some higher-attaining pupils were expressive in their views about how people can spend useful lives and make a difference! However, pupils could make much more progress throughout the school. The subject coverage could be more rigorous, regular and methodical.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

140. No lessons were seen in Years 1 and 2 and with very little recorded work it is not possible to reach a judgement about teaching.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

141. The quality of teaching pupils receive in Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory judged on the standard of work. At the time of the last inspection, the quality of teaching was good. Only two lessons were seen during the inspection and whilst one was satisfactory, the teaching in the other was unsatisfactory. These lessons were not representative of the whole school as other religious education lessons took place on days when inspectors were not present. Strengths in the satisfactory lesson were a clear exposition by the teacher of the facts of Dr. Barnardo’s life, leading to some searching questioning. Where the teaching was unsatisfactory, the teacher wasted time and did not fulfil the aim of the lesson, ’to appreciate religious music used for meditation’.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

142. The co-ordinator is a part-time teacher who shows a great interest in the subject. Although recently appointed to the post, she has influenced the teaching staff to improve the use of resources, make purposeful links with the personal, social and health education programme and to develop a thematic approach to the subject. However, at the time of the last inspection, there had been no effective monitoring of the teaching and no assessments had taken place of how well pupils achieve. This is still the case. The management of the school needs to give a higher profile to this subject in order for it to match the aims of the Christian community it serves.

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