Other · Ofsted report
St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School
Summary
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- URN verified
120153
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Tone of the report
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Strengths
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- Those pupils who have special educational needs also make good progress because of very effective support from skilled teaching assistants. p.38
- Since the last inspection she has effectively raised the profile of the Senior Management Team in the school and has built up a strong and effective team, each member bringing different strengths to the team. p.24
- For example when a group of pupils were conducting an excellent interview with the local vicar, the pupils at the back of this extremely cramped teaching area found it very difficult to hear because of the conversations of the pupils in another Year 6 area. p.38
- Individual or small group teaching sessions outside class, especially for those pupils with statements, are often very effective and enable pupils to make good progress towards their targets. p.17
- Pupils are very well supported by the very good relationships that exist and they feel confident and happy during their time at school. p.21
Concerns
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- The main weakness is that the co-ordinator has little involvement in supporting the work across the school and this has allowed weaknesses in teaching and progress to go unchecked. p.55
- However, the initial identification and assessment process for special needs pupils sometimes happens more slowly than it should, principally because the special needs co-ordinator has insufficient release time to follow up quickly any concerns or referrals from staff. p.22
- There is also insufficient clarity about who manages the day-to-day work of learning support assistants for pupils with special educational needs which leads to some confusion and lack of focus in the work of these staff. p.25
- The annual budget for the Foundation Stage is inadequate to purchase new equipment and meet the needs of the youngest children. p.33
- The work pupils do is usually not sufficiently different to meet the needs of groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs, and is generally pitched at too low a level for most pupils. p.55
Next steps
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- The restricted space in classrooms and noise intrusion affecting lessons. p.7
- Standards in religious education in Key Stage 2 and geography throughout the school. p.7
- The quality of the monitoring and evaluation of the work of the school. p.7
- The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. p.7
- The school was previously inspected in 1998 and has made satisfactory overall improvement. p.7
- Standards and the quality of teaching and school leadership are similar to what they were at the time of the last inspection. p.7
- Whilst the school has made some improvements in most identified areas, some key issues for development remain. p.7
- The school has implemented its action plan in accordance with the stated timescales, but some of these timescales could have been shorter. p.7
What the report dwells on
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Communication & language49
“Children enjoy looking at books and are happy and confident to talk about what has been read.” p.34Records & policies45
“Staff are caring and supportive and Child Protection procedures are good.” p.10
Anatomy of the report
How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.
- Pages
- 55
- Words of findings
- 25,797
- longer than usual (typical 1049)
- Reading level
- Hard
- Flesch 47, typical 45
- Average sentence
- 19 words
- Next steps
- 8
- typical 5
- Hedged sentences
- 12%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dates of inspection: 23 rd – 26 th June 2003
p.1
ENGLAND 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.
p.1
ENGLAND 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 Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 3
p.2
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
School address: Willowcroft Warwick Avenue Quorn Loughborough
p.3
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Name of chair of governors: Mrs T Alford
p.3
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Date of previous inspection: 05 May1998 St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 4
p.3
INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM
Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 21750 Mrs S E Hall Registered inspector Art and design The school’s results and pupils’ achievements. How well are pupils taught? What could the school do to improve further? 19335 Mrs S Dixon Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 32279 Mr R Hammerton Team inspector Geography Religious education Special educational needs How well does the school care for its pupils?
p.4
INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM
3687 Mr G Bancroft Team inspector Information and communication technology Physical education How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? 30864 Mrs C Boyce Team inspector Music The foundation stage 30398 Mr C Scola Team inspector English. Design and technology 31453 Mrs J Hill Team inspector Science How well is the school led and managed? 27718 Mrs S Abrol Team inspector Mathematics History Educational inclusion English as an additional language
p.4
INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM
The inspection contractor was: Lynrose Marketing Limited Bungalow Farmhouse Six Mile Bottom Newmarket Suffolk CB8 0TU
p.4
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: The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division
p.4
INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM
Alexandra House St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 5 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 6
p.4
PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6
Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school
p.6
HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development
p.6
AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 31
St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 7
p.7
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
St Bartholomew’s Primary School is located in the large village of Quorn on the outskirts of Loughborough in Leicestershire. There are 362 pupils on roll between the ages of four and eleven. The school is oversubscribed and pupil mobility in and out of the school is low. Whilst mainly drawing from the local community, some parents from outside the area choose the school because of its ‘village’ ethos. Currently less than one per cent of pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals, which is very low in comparison with the national average. Almost all pupils are of white ethnicity with no pupils at an early stage of learning English. Seven per cent of pupils are on the school’s special educational needs register, which is below average, although six pupils have statements of special educational needs, which is quite a high proportion. Pupils’ attainment when they start school is above average in most
p.7
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
areas of development other than writing.
p.7
HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS
This is a school in which pupils feel valued and enjoy their learning and where the overall quality of education is satisfactory. Overall standards are above average in English, mathematics and science throughout the school. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, which allows pupils to make at least satisfactory progress. The quality of leadership and management is satisfactory with strengths in the pastoral care of pupils. During the interim period of the headteacher’s absence, senior staff have led the school well. Taking all factors into account the school achieves satisfactory value for money.
p.7
What the school does well
• Standards are well above the average in English at the age of eleven. • Standards in mathematics and science are above average throughout the school. • Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good and relationships are very good. • Teaching in Key Stage 2 is good overall. • Parents have very positive views of the school and support pupils very well. • Extra-curricular provision is good.
p.7
What could be improved
• The restricted space in classrooms and noise intrusion affecting lessons. • Standards in religious education in Key Stage 2 and geography throughout the school. • The quality of the monitoring and evaluation of the work of the school. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.
p.7
HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION
The school was previously inspected in 1998 and has made satisfactory overall improvement. Standards and the quality of teaching and school leadership are similar to what they were at the time of the last inspection. Whilst the school has made some improvements in most identified areas, some key issues for development remain. The school has implemented its action plan in accordance with the stated timescales, but some of these timescales could have been shorter. There has been good improvement in ensuring the homework policy is established and implemented and in reviewing the structure and function of the senior management team so it has become more effective. There has been satisfactory improvement in most other areas including the quality of short term planning and continuous assessment through identifying specific learning objectives for lessons and St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 8
p.7
HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION
identifying what is to be assessed and recorded. Individual targets for pupils, which are consistent with prior attainment, are set satisfactorily but the marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent. There has been improvement in raising standards in music but unsatisfactory improvement in geography. Whilst there has been improvement in implementing strategies for the monitoring and evaluation of standards and teaching, this work lacks rigour and information is not used well enough to identify and model best practice and to drive teaching standards upwards. There has been some improvement in provision and planning to prepare pupils to live in a culturally diverse society and in the school’s library facilities and stocks of books so that pupils’ library and research skills are more systematically taught.
p.8
STANDARDS
The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.
p.8
schools
2000 2001 2002 2002 very high A* English B A B C well above average above average A B mathematics A A* B C average below average C D science B A C D well below average E
p.8
schools
The above table shows in the 2002 National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, attainment was above the national average in English and mathematics and average in science. When compared to schools with similar numbers of pupils entitled to free school meals, levels of attainment are average in English and mathematics but below average in science. Inspection findings indicate that standards at the end of Year 6 in English are well above average and those in mathematics and science are above average. The slight difference in attainment between previous test results and inspection findings is explained by the natural ability differences between the different cohorts and an improvement in writing in the past year as a result of a focus upon developing writing skills. The school’s trend of improvement has been broadly in line with the national trend. Pupils of all abilities, including those with special
p.8
schools
educational needs, make good progress in Key Stage 2 and achieve well in these subjects by the time they leave school. The school sets suitable targets in literacy and numeracy for the number of pupils to reach the expected level for 11-year-olds.
p.8
schools
The results of the 2002 National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 2 show attainment to be above the national average in reading and mathematics and average in writing. When compared to similar schools, attainment is average in reading and mathematics but below this in writing. Inspection findings show that standards in reading and writing are well above average, whilst standards in mathematics and science are above average. Pupils are achieving higher standards in writing because of a school focus upon developing ‘sparkling writing’. Pupils of all abilities are making satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1. Standards are above average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in design and technology and history and at the end of Year 2 in physical education. Standards are below average in geography at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 and in religious education at the end of Year 6. Standards in all other subjects are average.
p.8
schools
St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 9 When children start school, assessment data shows that their attainment is above the average expected at this age. Children of all abilities make satisfactory progress and by the time they start in Year 1 almost all have met the nationally recommended Early Learning Goals in all areas of learning and exceeded these targets in personal and social development, communication, language and literacy and mathematics.
p.9
Aspect Comment
Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils have good attitudes to their work and most concentrate very well even in classroom conditions that allow background noise to pervade the school.
p.9
Aspect Comment
Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. The majority of pupils are courteous and polite and work and play well together.
p.9
Aspect Comment
Personal development and relationships Good. Pupils take on responsibilities happily and there are very good relationships although there are relatively few opportunities for them to show initiative and carry out lines of investigation.
p.9
Aspect Comment
Attendance Well above average. The large majority of pupils attend school regularly although some take holidays in term time and several are late arriving at the start of the day.
p.9
Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6
Quality of teaching Satisfactory 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.
p.9
Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6
The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall although it is very variable across the school. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory as it is in Year 1 and this enables pupils to settle happily to school. However, this teaching sometimes lacks sparkle and is a little flat. Teaching in Year 2 is good and sometimes very good which boosts the quality of pupils’ learning. Teaching in Year 3 to Year 6 is very mixed, and is mostly good and sometimes in Year 3 / 4, Year 5 and Year 6 teaching is very good. The teaching of English and mathematics is good throughout the school and this enables pupils to make good progress in developing the basic skills of numeracy and literacy. The emphasis that the school has placed on the systematic teaching of writing skills has led to recent improvements. The teaching of science and design and technology is also good throughout the school. In religious education in Key Stage 2 and in geography throughout the school
p.9
Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6
teaching is unsatisfactory. In both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 there is some teaching that is unsatisfactory because not enough is expected of pupils. Whilst all groups of pupils learn at least satisfactorily, the accommodation allows background noise to intrude across the classes which affects curriculum planning, teaching styles and pupils’ concentration. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory overall. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 10
p.9
Aspect Comment
The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory. The curriculum for pupils is broad and reasonably well balanced although that for geography and religious education requires development. The curriculum for the small number of children in the reception group within Year 1 classes is not sufficiently based upon the required areas of learning for their age. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory. The support of pupils within the classroom is satisfactory and when additional support is available this is good.
p.10
Aspect Comment
Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Satisfactory. Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is good and that for spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory although staff miss opportunities to plan to extend pupils’ development in each of the areas.
p.10
Aspect Comment
How well the school cares for its pupils Satisfactory. Staff are caring and supportive and Child Protection procedures are good. But, there are important health and safety issues that the school needs to address with urgency. Assessment procedures are generally satisfactory, as is the use of this information to inform planning, especially in core subjects.
p.10
Aspect Comment
Parents have very positive views of the school and support it and their children’s learning well.
p.10
Aspect Comment
Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory. The senior management team is an effective group, providing strong support to the school and developing its role well in moving the school forward. Development planning is extensive but lacks clarity and rigour in identifying and pursuing areas for improvement. The role of curriculum co-ordinators is under- developed especially in several non-core subjects where some staff have little knowledge of standards across the school. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. Governors are generally well informed and developing their roles well although they are sometimes more aware of the strengths of the school than of the areas for development. The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. The school has introduced procedures to monitor and evaluate its work but the monitoring carried out has not always identified where weaknesses occur in planning and
p.10
Aspect Comment
teaching. The strategic use of resources Satisfactory. The school has established suitable procedures to ensure best value is achieved in school purchases and financial management is good. The school is suitably staffed and resourced. However, the poor quality of school accommodation allows background noise to intrude in lessons and this affects the pupil’s concentration and learning. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 11 St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 12
p.10
What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved
• That they would feel comfortable approaching the school. • The school expects pupils to work hard and achieve well. • The school is well led and managed. • The use of homework on a more systematic basis. • The range of activities outside lessons. • More information about how their children are getting on.
p.12
What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved
Inspectors agree that parents feel comfortable approaching the school and there is an expectation that pupils will work hard. However, inspectors believe the range of extra curricular activities is good as is the quality of information to parents. School leadership is satisfactory as is the use of homework. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 13
p.12
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
1. The Foundation Stage consists of two Reception classes and with eleven older reception year children within two Year 1 classes. The children’s attainment when they start school covers the full ability range and overall it is above average. Most children are quite confident and articulate for their age. During their time in the Foundation Stage the children benefit from satisfactory teaching although curriculum provision is not well enough planned to meet the needs of the children in the mixed age classes. Overall children of all abilities receive a satisfactory start to their educational lives in the Foundation Stage where they make satisfactory progress. The large majority of children achieve the nationally recommended Early Learning Goals in each of the six recognised areas of their learning and most exceed these goals in their personal and social development, communication language and literacy and in their mathematical
p.13
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
2. By the end of Year 2, on the basis of the 2002 National Curriculum test results, pupils’ attainment was above the national average in reading and mathematics and average in writing. When the results are compared to schools with similar numbers of pupils entitled to free school meals, attainment is average in reading and mathematics and below average in writing. Trends have been somewhat inconsistent over the last four years and standards were highest in 2001. Inspection findings show that pupils’ attainment in speaking and listening, reading and writing are well above average and that standards in mathematics and science are above average. Pupils of all abilities are making good progress in English, mathematics and science largely due to the good and often very good quality of teaching in Year 2. Differences between test results and inspection findings are the result of natural ability differences between the groups of
p.13
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
pupils. There is no significant difference in attainment between boys and girls.
p.13
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
3. By the end of Year 2, inspection findings show that standards in speaking and listening are well above average. Pupils are confident speakers and are usually keen to express their views and opinions in a coherent manner. Pupils are attentive listeners although the quality of the school accommodation hinders their concentration. Standards are well above average in reading. Most pupils are keen and competent readers who read with good levels of fluency and accuracy. The higher attaining pupils extract information from texts well and use a range of different strategies to tackle unfamiliar words. Standards in writing are improving and above average. Most pupils use punctuation in an appropriate manner, spell with a good degree of accuracy and sequence their ideas in a logical manner when writing factually or creatively.
p.13
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
4. Standards in mathematics and science are above average by the end of Year 2. Pupils have good number skills and apply these well in problem solving activities. Pupils have a good knowledge of two and three-dimensional shapes and use standard and non- standard measures with an appropriate degree of accuracy. Most pupils solve mental mathematical problems confidently. Standards in science are above average by the end of Year 2. Pupils explore ideas well because of the many opportunities that are provided, and have good factual knowledge of life and living things, materials, physical processes and electricity.
p.13
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
5. By the end of Year 2 standards in design and technology, history and physical education are above average, but those in geography are below average. Standards in St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 14 all other subjects including information and communication technology, religious education, art and design and music are average. Satisfactory teaching in Year 1 and good teaching in Year 2 coupled with good attitudes to learning help to ensure that pupils of all abilities make at least satisfactory progress. Most pupils achieve satisfactorily.
p.13
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
6. By the end of Year 6, on the basis of the 2002 National Curriculum tests, pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics was above average and standards in science were in line with the national average. When compared to similar schools, attainment is average in English and mathematics, but below average in science. Inspection findings show attainment in English to be well above average, and in mathematics and science to be above average. Any differences between test results and inspection findings are explained by the natural ability differences of the different cohorts of pupils. The school’s trend of improvement has been similar to the national trend. The school sets challenging targets in literacy and numeracy both for the number of pupils targeted to reach the level expected of 11-year-olds and those expected to exceed this level.
p.14
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
7. The good overall quality of teaching in Key Stage 2 in English, mathematics and science and the good attitudes of the pupils means that pupils of all abilities make good progress and achieve well. The progress that pupils make in Year 5 and part of Year 6 and in the mixed Year 3 Year 4 group is sometimes very good and accelerates because of the consistent quality of teaching. In some classes in Year 3, Year 4 and Year 6, pupils do not make such marked progress.
p.14
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
8. Standards in English are well above average. Pupils express themselves well in formal and informal situations and use a good vocabulary. Pupils are very attentive listeners even when there is intrusive noise around the school. Standards in reading are well above average. Many pupils leave the school as fluent readers who have a good level of understanding of what they have read with the higher attaining pupils able to read beyond the literal level. Writing standards are well above average. Many pupils, by the time that they leave school, write complex passages with good levels of punctuation and an interesting use of vocabulary. Pupils organise their writing well. The school’s recent focus on developing ‘sparkling writing’ is beginning to pay dividends.
p.14
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
9. Standards in mathematics and science are above average and many pupils are confident in these subjects. By the end of Year 6 pupils have a good grasp of number and place value and decide how and what processes they require to calculate the correct answers. Pupils collect and interpret data well. They name many shapes, know their different properties and measure angles accurately. In mental activities their instant recall of number bonds and number facts is good. In science pupils have a good base of scientific knowledge across all elements of the subject. Many pupils are clearly aware of the factors needed to carry out a fair test and the higher attaining pupils put their scientific knowledge to good use in hypothesising and predicting outcomes of experiments and investigations. Pupils use an appropriate scientific vocabulary when explaining their work but the accommodation places restrictions upon their ability to
p.14
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
carry out investigative and problem solving tasks.
p.14
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
10. By the end of Year 6, standards are above average in design and technology and history but below average in religious education and geography. Standards in information and communication technology are at an average level as they are in art and design, music and physical education. 11. The achievement of pupils who have special educational needs is generally in line with expectations based on pupils’ individual needs and abilities. Overall, the progress of these pupils is satisfactory, though it is generally good in English, Mathematics and St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 15 Science where most additional support is provided. The best progress, when related to prior attainment, is shown by pupils with statements of special needs who are well taught when withdrawn individually from class. The school is wisely monitoring the effect of the withdrawal of these pupils from some lessons to ensure that pupils do not
p.14
The school’s results and pupils’ achievements
miss out on some aspects of the curriculum. Those pupils in Key Stage 2 who are identified by the school as gifted and talented generally make appropriate progress when compared with their peers.
p.15
Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development
12. Pupils have good attitudes to their work. They enjoy their time at school and for the most part work hard throughout the day. Where teaching is of a good quality, pupils approach their lessons and activities with interest and enthusiasm. However, in lessons where teaching is less effective they become inattentive and some girls, in particular, take a passive role. Attitudes to learning are better in the mornings when the school is calmer. As the day wears on, the carry over of noise from adjoining classes has a detrimental effect upon pupils’ ability to sustain such high levels of concentration and hard work. Overall, pupils listen respectfully to their teachers and to each other. They settle to their work quickly and can work well alone or in groups as required. For example more skilled pupils willingly and effectively support their classmates. Pupils enjoy research activities but insufficient opportunities are provided in lessons to develop
p.15
Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development
these skills and for pupils to take responsibility for their own learning partly because of the restricted accommodation.
p.15
Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development
13. The behaviour of pupils is good in lessons, assemblies and at lunchtimes. Pupils generally move around school sensibly and their good behaviour contributes well to a purposeful learning environment. Where praise is used effectively it instils pride and motivation. On the rare occasions when behaviour is unacceptable pupils respond well to the school’s system of sanctions. Pupils consider playtimes to be a happy part of the day and there is no evidence of oppressive behaviour. They feel that they usually resolve minor conflicts well amongst themselves and that they can enlist the help of their friends or adults if needed. There have been no exclusions in the past year and appropriate procedures are in place should they be needed.
p.15
Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development
14. Pupils’ personal development is good. They respond well to the many opportunities that are provided to take responsibility, for example by undertaking duties in the classrooms and at lunchtime and acting as reading buddies to younger pupils. A school council is now in place reflecting a commitment to the development of citizenship across the school. Pupils’ personal development is well supported across the curriculum but there are too few opportunities for pupils to discuss their ideas and opinions. Better opportunities are provided for pupils to express themselves fully in portable classrooms where teachers do not have to be as mindful of the effects of noise on adjoining classes as they do in the main school building.
p.15
Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development
15. Relationships in this school community are very good. Pupils play and work alongside each other amicably and they take care of each other well. Pupils are friendly and helpful and are attentive to the needs of others particularly those who are younger then themselves. Where relationships between teachers and their pupils are very good there is a significant and positive impact upon pupils’ learning. Pupils treat others with consideration and display respect for differing opinions and lifestyles. 16. Attendance rates are well above the national average and are very good. For the most part pupils arrive at school on time eager to start the day although a significant number are late, parents do not always adopt sufficient urgency in arriving punctually. Absences are due to illness and to an amount of holiday taking in term time. For these pupils this St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 16
p.15
Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development
has a detrimental effect upon their learning. Registration periods are brief and efficient and statutory requirements are met in full.
p.16
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
17. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory as it was at the time of the previous inspection. Teaching is satisfactory overall in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 whilst being stronger in parts of Key Stage 2 where it is good overall. During the inspection teaching was very good in 17% of the 77 lessons seen; good in 35%, satisfactory in 43% and unsatisfactory in 5% of the lessons observed. These judgements are borne out by the samples of pupils’ work across the year, which show that all groups of pupils learn in a satisfactory manner and pupils in Key Stage 2 generally learn well.
p.16
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
18. The strongest area of teaching is in the good management of pupils throughout the school. Most staff have developed good relationships with pupils, they are supportive and caring and know the pupils well. The ethos the staff have created is a strength, which allows the pupils to be happy in their learning and to enjoy coming to school. This is seen to particular effect in a mixed Year 3 / Year 4 class where the teacher has developed excellent strategies and relationships with pupils which makes absolutely clear to them what is expected of them both personally and academically.
p.16
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
19. Teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the learning needs of pupils and of the subjects they teach is satisfactory in the Foundation Stage and generally good in the rest of the school. The decision the school has made that some reception age pupils are placed in a Year 1 class for part of the year in order to keep all younger pupils in classes of less than 30 needs to be reviewed. This arrangement is currently not meeting the needs of the younger children, as staff do not plan activities well enough to reflect the Early Learning Goals which are the recommended guidelines for children in the Foundation Stage. Too many activities for these children are very formal in emphasis and children are required to sit and listen and complete worksheets that do not allow them opportunities for structured or free play to extend their personal and social development.
p.16
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
20. The teaching of basic skills of literacy and numeracy is satisfactory overall and often good in Key Stage 2. Pupils are taught how to read and write well and the emphasis on developing ‘sparkling writing’ is beginning to pay off. However, staff do not place enough emphasis on developing pupils’ speaking skills and for a variety of reasons some pupils, quite often the girls, offer relatively little to class discussions. The teaching of mathematics is good and teachers are more than competent to teach literacy and numeracy skills.
p.16
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
21. The teaching of problem solving and experimental and investigative skills in mathematics and science is affected by the school accommodation. There is a clear impact made upon teaching by the severe lack of space in several open plan classes and in the problems of noise carrying from adjoining spaces. Staff try very hard within these severe constraints to make teaching effective but try as they might the accommodation curbs the type of activity they can organise and affects pupils’ concentration. The skills of information and communication technology are taught in a satisfactory manner overall, although opportunities for pupils to use computers as a cross-curricular tool in learning are missed. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 17 22. Teachers’ planning is satisfactory. The school has spent time since the previous inspection ensuring that learning objectives are identified in planning and
p.16
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
communicated to the pupils. However, sometimes these aims are rather vague as are the targets set for pupils to improve.
p.17
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
23. Teachers’ expectations are mostly good. Staff clearly expect the pupils to behave well and most live up to these expectations. Most activities include different but linked tasks for pupils of different abilities, which allow them to make at least satisfactory progress. The school is still at the very earliest stages of identifying pupils who are gifted and talented in particular areas from Year 3 onwards. There is room to extend planning for these pupils.
p.17
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
24. The teaching and support for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. Individual or small group teaching sessions outside class, especially for those pupils with statements, are often very effective and enable pupils to make good progress towards their targets. The resources used in these sessions are good, motivating and attractive. Teaching is carefully matched to pupils’ needs shown in their Individual Education Plans. Pupils generally enjoy withdrawal sessions and develop good attitudes to learning through them. However, in many class lessons, the particular requirements of special needs pupils have a low profile, reducing learning opportunities. Sometimes pupils’ specific needs are not adequately addressed and Individual Education Plans are not used well enough to inform teaching. Quite often, the lack of specific provision for special needs pupils means that they struggle with their work and
p.17
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
sometimes their behaviour deteriorates. There are isolated examples of particularly effective provision for special needs pupils in a few classes. In these cases, the pupils make good progress and are confident.
p.17
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
25. Teachers use a satisfactory range of teaching methods to enable most pupils to learn and make progress. Most teachers introduce activities well and usually explain things at least adequately. There is a reasonable mix of whole class, group and individual tasks. However, teachers have sometimes found it difficult to identify best practice in teaching and where this occurs in the school. Some staff presume that firm discipline and overly directed tasks through giving lengthy instructions and information is effective teaching. However, other staff, including all members of the senior management team have much more effective strategies to involve the pupils in more imaginative and open- ended learning. The school misses the opportunity for all staff to observe best practice both within the school and in other places in order to extend the effectiveness of the methods they use to organise lessons.
p.17
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
26. The use of time, support staff and resources is satisfactory throughout the school. However, staff in some lessons in the Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 3 talk for too long which limits pupils’ responses and the opportunity to find things out for themselves. There is a better awareness in Year 2, Year 3 / Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 where staff are calm but purposeful in their teaching. In Year 5 the two teachers work well together and organise some activities jointly, which is a good strategy to ensure that pupils in different classes have equal access to the curriculum. This is seen to good effect in design and technology where the teachers make a wide range of materials available to the pupils. Staff are to be commended for their efforts to overcome the difficulties of restricted space where groups of five pupils have to negotiate strategies of working together to design and make a textile panel.
p.17
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
27. The quality of on-going assessment is satisfactory throughout the school but with areas of strength and others for further development. Many staff give good verbal feedback to pupils so that they know what they have done well. Most staff praise the pupils St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 18 appropriately, which raises their self-esteem. They usually make clear to pupils when their behaviour is not as it should be, although are sometimes less effective in indicating how pupils can improve their work. The marking of pupils’ work is very inconsistent. There are examples, particularly in English where this is effective in indicating what the pupils need to do to improve. However, some marking is cursory but there is little evidence of this occurring on a regular basis. Because the monitoring of pupils’ work by subject co-ordinators has sometimes been minimal this has allowed inconsistencies in marking to continue and become a key issue for improvement.
p.17
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
28. The use of homework is satisfactory overall and often good in Key Stage 2. The use of homework was an issue raised by several parents through the inspection questionnaire as being in need of improvement. However, the school gives clear information about the setting of work and this is used appropriately.
p.18
HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?
29. Whilst teaching is satisfactory overall there is some in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 that is unsatisfactory and there are some elements of teaching for children in the Foundation Stage that are weak. This is linked to the pace of lessons, the organisation of activities and ineffective behaviour management. This is seen either where staff continually stop lessons for minor silliness or conversely ignore the misbehaviour of pupils which affects the learning of others. Some staff overly control the activities, which limits pupils’ interest in what they are doing. In some lessons several pupils lose concentration and do little or no work. Whilst the school has behaviour policies there is not enough consistency in how staff apply such procedures and this affects the learning and progress pupils make.
p.18
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
30. The school provides its pupils with a satisfactory range of learning opportunities. Statutory requirements for what should be taught are met satisfactorily. These include the requirements for teaching the subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. All pupils are included well in the full range of learning opportunities and in the provision made by the school to support their learning.
p.18
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
31. The planning of the curriculum is based satisfactorily on the programmes of study for the subjects of the National Curriculum and on nationally recommended guidance to support the teaching of each subject. These programmes and guidance are incorporated satisfactorily into the school’s policies for each subject and into its schemes of work. The governing body and the headteacher have set up a suitable programme, which ensures that subject policies and schemes of work are reviewed and updated in the light of nationally recommended changes and the needs of pupils.
p.18
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
32. The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are taught well and teachers make good use of opportunities to teach these skills in subjects in addition to English and mathematics. The headteacher and teachers have worked effectively to ensure the national strategies for teaching literacy and numeracy are applied well and this is reflected in the above average standards that pupils attain. Overall the curriculum is suitably broad and balanced. However, the amount of time that is allocated to the teaching of literacy means that what is taught in some other subjects is not covered in sufficient depth. This applies particularly to geography and to religious education. This is partly why standards in religious education in Year 3 to Year 6 and standards in geography throughout the school are not as high as they should be. The basic skills of information and communication technology are used satisfactorily in many subjects to enhance
p.18
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 19 pupils’ learning, for example, when pupils use electronic microscopes in science and computers for word processing in literacy. However, during the inspection not enough use was made of classroom computers to support the curriculum.
p.19
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
33. The curriculum for the children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory overall for the majority of the children. However, the needs of the Reception year children in Year 1 classes are not met well enough. Planning for these classes is based upon the National Curriculum and makes insufficient reference to the Early Learning Goals which are the recognised areas for children in the Reception year. These children do not have sufficient access to structured and free play activities to particularly support their personal and social development.
p.19
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
34. All pupils have equal access to the curriculum, which is fully inclusive. The school is able to accommodate pupils with disabilities. However, the school is not easily accessible for wheelchair users. Curriculum provision for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. Learning support assistants often work with special needs pupils in class but the effect of this support is variable. Sometimes it is clearly focused and pupils engage well but, on other occasions, it is not well enough targeted to make a significant impact.
p.19
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
35. The provision for extra curricular activities is good. The school provides a good range of popular lunchtime and after school clubs that give pupils of all ages an opportunity to learn new skills. In addition the school encourages other organisations mainly with sporting links to make use of school facilities to provide a varied selection of after school activities. The extra curricular provision has a very positive effect upon the pupils’ enthusiasm for school and for the creation of good social skills and relationships.
p.19
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
36. The provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is satisfactory. There is a well structured scheme of work and relevant issues are supported across the curriculum. Health education including the provision of sex education and issues surrounding the misuse of drugs are appropriately included. The school has recognised the need to develop aspects of citizenship across the school. Citizenship is well provided for with many opportunities in lessons and circle times for pupils to acquire good discussion skills and to voice their opinions. A newly formed school council is a positive addition to this area. The open plan design of the school and the problems of disrupting neighbouring lessons makes it extremely difficult for teachers to organise role-play activities and create opportunities for pupils to acquire good discussion skills and to voice their opinions.
p.19
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
37. The schools’ links with the community are good and have a positive effect upon pupils learning. Members of the community support various curriculum subjects for example older local residents support history lessons by talking to pupils about their lives and experiences. Other visitors support the arts and personal and social education lessons. Speakers from charities raise pupil’s awareness of those less fortunate than themselves.
p.19
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
38. The relationships with partner institutions are satisfactory. Pupils benefit from inter- school sporting events and from specialist workshops that are offered by the local community college. The secondary school provides a good series of induction visits for pupils. Members of staff from Year 7 visit pupils prior to their transfer and hold useful discussions with the Year 6 teachers. Teachers from Year 7 have been able to gain insight into learning in Year 6 but at present this useful link has not been reciprocated. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 20 39. The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is good and for their spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory. Spiritual development is satisfactory and is promoted through assemblies, religious education lessons and across the curriculum. The statutory requirements regarding acts of collective worship are met. In assemblies
p.19
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
pupils are offered some opportunities to reflect and pray and to consider their own thoughts and feelings and those of others. Pupils are encouraged to value themselves and to be proud of their achievements. For example pupils in Year 6 discussed with inspectors their delight with the outcome of a recent lesson where they had written about what made their classmates special and in turn had read the comments about themselves. The creation of a suitable atmosphere for class assemblies and worship is seriously hampered by noise from activities in the next class, this is especially so in the afternoons. Whilst class assemblies do offer some support for pupils’ spiritual development, opportunities to develop spiritual awareness in these and across the curriculum are often missed. The ends of some assemblies are rushed and the time allocated for reflection and prayer lose its value.
p.20
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
40. The provision for pupils’ moral development is good. There is a clear code of conduct that is reflected in the good level of respect that pupils generally offer each other. Praise and reward are often used effectively to promote good behaviour and instil pride. Pupils have a good sense of right and wrong, assemblies and personal and social education lessons promote this area well. Pupils learn about the need for rules in society and how to avoid and resolve conflict. Discussions with pupils show that they do have a good level of respect for the differing views and beliefs of others. The school promotes its ‘Family’ well; this is evident in a display, which reflects the high and equal value given to pupils in the school from other faiths.
p.20
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
41. The provision for pupils’ social development is also good and well promoted throughout the school community. In lessons pupils have opportunities to work collaboratively and to learn to appreciate the needs of others. A particular feature of the school is the provision of year 6 reading buddies for younger pupils. This supports the learning of younger pupils well and supports the building of good relationships amongst pupils generally. The good provision for extra curricular activities gives pupils many opportunities to socialise and develop team skills. Opportunities for residential trips promote independence, confidence and a tolerance of others. The school’s good links with the community and involvement with other schools for sporting events allows pupils to experience society in the wider world and to learn to relate to and work with other children and adults.
p.20
PUPILS OR STUDENTS?
42. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is satisfactory. Pupils learn about their own traditions and to appreciate their own environment. For example through visits to an environmental centre or by taking part in a sculpture walk. Music and art lessons widen pupils experiences and this is an improvement since the last inspection. However whilst pupils do show a good level of respect for others they have insufficient opportunities to learn about the customs and beliefs of other nationalities. Opportunities are missed to develop a full appreciation of the diverse society in which we live, including through geography and religious education. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 21
p.20
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
43. The school provides a warm and sensitive environment where all are equally valued. Pupils are very well supported by the very good relationships that exist and they feel confident and happy during their time at school. The health and safety arrangements are satisfactory and these are supported by a suitable policy. Whilst pupils are generally well cared for the school has been made aware of a number of health and safety issues. Child protection procedures are however good. All the staff employed in school have the knowledge and training required to ensure procedures are followed correctly. Good written guidance is provided for all staff and is also made available to parents.
p.21
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
44. The procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development and progress are satisfactory. Whilst the school has no formal whole school system for monitoring and recording pupils’ personal development it does have a variety of informal systems including regular staff discussions and incident records. Pupils’ personal progress is well supported by the good provision for personal, social and moral development. The school is beginning to set individual targets for improvement but this is at an early stage and pupils currently do not have enough opportunities to evaluate their work or to take responsibility for their own learning.
p.21
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
45. The procedures for monitoring and improving attendance are satisfactory. The school meets with statutory requirements and the administration procedures are generally efficient. The school makes the negative effects of holiday taking in term time clear to parents and suitably formal procedures surround this issue. A significant number of pupils are late for school and, whilst parents advise staff of their child’s lateness on arrival, staff do not challenge parents sufficiently about this.
p.21
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
46. The procedures for monitoring and promoting appropriate behaviour are good. The school has a clear behaviour policy that is well understood by pupils. There is a good system for praise and reward but it is not always made best use of to recognise success and motivate pupils. Clear messages are given about unacceptable behaviour and the pupils understand the school’s expectations well. Behaviour is monitored closely and individual problems identified. The school is sensitive to each pupil’s needs and difficulties and appropriate support is provided. The procedures for monitoring and eliminating oppressive behaviour are also good. Detailed records are kept and the school deals swiftly with any individual incidents. Pupils learn about issues surrounding bullying and conflict in personal and social education lessons.
p.21
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
47. The school has made satisfactory progress in addressing the key issue about planning and assessment from the last inspection. Many lessons now have specific learning objectives that relate to the overall scheme of work. There have been improvements in the gathering and collation of assessment information and the school is in the early stages of giving all pupils individual learning targets in English and mathematics. There have been some improvements in marking, particularly in English, though there is still more work to do to develop this in all subjects. There also remains a need to use the available assessment information consistently across the school to ensure all work set is well matched to the needs of individuals and groups of pupils.
p.21
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
48. Assessment procedures are satisfactory. Pupils are tested regularly in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science across the school and the results of these tests are well collated and maintained by the assessment co-ordinator. A computer programme has recently been purchased which helps to analyse the information. This data is used effectively to track the progress of individual children and St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 22 cohorts, to inform the production of the school development plan and to help place children in some teaching groups and sets. As yet, the information is not often shared with the pupils themselves, who cannot therefore use knowledge of their own attainment levels to help themselves to improve.
p.21
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
49. There are some good examples of where assessment information is used well by teachers to inform planning and ensure the right level of challenging work is set for individual pupils. This happens most effectively in a few classes, including those of the staff on the school management team. There is a need to spread this good practice into all of the classes. As yet, the school does not sufficiently analyse the respective performance of different groups of pupils, such as boys and girls, the very small number with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs to check on the effectiveness of its provision in each case. This does not help staff identify where additional support for pupils might be appropriate.
p.22
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
50. Starting in Reception, where suitable monitoring of pupils’ progress in relation to the ‘Stepping Stones’ and Early Learning Goals takes place, day to day assessments of pupils in all classes are carried out by teachers using methods they choose. This leads to some variations in practice and the school has not yet made enough provision to ensure that assessments are consistent and rigorous. In the none-core subjects, all teachers make basic assessments of the pupils’ progress at the end of each unit of work based on whether each pupil has achieved, not achieved or exceeded the principal learning objective. These assessments have value in informing overall planning, and staff discussions, but are not as useful in supporting the progress of individual pupils and raising standards. This is because they do not give clear information about National Curriculum attainment levels.
p.22
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
51. The best assessment practice in the school is in English, where it is good. This is because of the effectiveness of the new individual targets, which pupils are beginning to find useful, high quality verbal feedback to pupils in lessons and the generally good marking. Marking in English is usually developmental, giving individual improvement suggestions which are followed up well by the pupils, helping them to achieve high standards of work. For example, Key Stage 1 pupils identify clearly how good marking enabled them to improve their writing and their knowledge of phonics, but in other subjects this is more variable. Overall, it is no better than satisfactory because the kind of developmental marking seen in English is rarely used. Sometimes, fairly lengthy pieces of work are marked with just a tick. Pupils are not always sure about whether their work is good or not. Additionally, pupils rarely have the opportunity to assess or
p.22
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
mark their own or each other’s work, except for right or wrong answers in spelling or tables tests, or to offer each other improvement suggestions. When this does happen, usually in English lessons, they enjoy it and find it useful.
p.22
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?
52. Formal assessments of pupils with special educational needs are carried out well by the special educational needs co-ordinator, working with parents, colleagues and other agencies. These lead to clearly written, well focused Individual Education Plans. However, the initial identification and assessment process for special needs pupils sometimes happens more slowly than it should, principally because the special needs co-ordinator has insufficient release time to follow up quickly any concerns or referrals from staff. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 23
p.22
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?
53. Parents’ views of the school are very good. Parents feel that the school offers good leadership and management, has high expectations and that the staff are approachable. Some parents are not as happy with the amount of homework provided for their child, the information they receive about how their child is getting on, or some aspects of the way the school works with parents. A number also feel the school does not provide an interesting range of activities outside lessons. The inspection findings support the parents’ positive views. The provision for homework is satisfactory. It is consistent, appropriate to the age of pupils and in line with government guidance. The extra-curricular provision that the school offers is good and a variety of visits and visitors enrich the curriculum.
p.23
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?
54. The effectiveness of the schools’ links with parents is good. Parents are involved well in the life of the school. They are invited to school performances and special events and gain some insight into their children’s learning through class assemblies. The school has recognised parents’ wishes for a greater understanding of the curriculum and what is taught. There are good plans to introduce a variety of workshops to improve parents’ knowledge and understanding.
p.23
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?
55. The impact of parents’ involvement on the work of the school is very good. Parents are supportive of the school and want their children to do well. A good number of parents are able to help in school with various activities. Their assistance in lessons has a very positive effect upon pupils’ learning. There is a strong “Friends” Association that has done much to support the school. A variety of events raise a significant amount of funds, currently being used to support the creation of an information and communication technology suite.
p.23
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?
56. The quality of information provided for parents is good. The governing body’s annual report and the school brochure are clear and informative. There is a wealth of written information otherwise about all aspects of school life. Frequent letters to parents do inform them well but some information lacks clarity. Parents’ evenings are held each term and provide thorough information about pupils’ progress. Annual written reports are good. They provide good information about what a child can do but whilst many identify problems clearly and give guidance for improvement some do not. The school recognises parents’ wishes to be better informed about the curriculum in order to judge for themselves how their children are doing. Some information about extra curricular clubs and activities lacks clarity.
p.23
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?
57. The contribution of parents to children’s learning at home and at school is very good. Homework is provided consistently and in line with the school’s policy. Pupils feel that their parents do know what the requirements of homework are and provide them with good support at home. Reading record books are completed by parents to indicate their support for this aspect of homework. The majority of parents demonstrate a clear commitment to supporting their children’s education in many ways and this has a very positive effect upon their learning.
p.23
HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?
58. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are given good opportunities and encouragement by the school to be involved actively as partners in their children’s education. They are invited to attend all relevant progress reviews and contact the school more informally. Their suggestions and concerns are well received, documented and acted on by the school, sometimes leading to helpful changes in provision. Parent volunteers also effectively support the learning of some pupils with special needs. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 24
p.23
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
59. The overall quality of leadership and management of the school by the headteacher and other key staff is satisfactory and there have been good improvements in some areas since the previous inspection. The focus since the last inspection has been to raise standards in English, mathematics and science although the school now needs to consider some of the other curriculum areas. The staff manage well with the poor accommodation of the classroom bases.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
60. The headteacher provides caring and supportive leadership for the school. Along with the Senior Management Team she is approachable, helpful and hard working. There is a detailed and clear policy outlining the management structure of the school. Since the last inspection she has effectively raised the profile of the Senior Management Team in the school and has built up a strong and effective team, each member bringing different strengths to the team. The team meets regularly to review progress against the School Development Plan as well as ongoing issues. The Senior Management Team members lead by example and are effective in their role of managing and maintaining an overview of the school. The deputy headteacher provides very good support for the headteacher, he is a skilled class teacher, and ran the school effectively during the recent period of the head’s absence. There is currently no provision for regular non
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
contact time for the Senior Management Team to enable both further delegation and development of their roles.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
61. Co-ordinators are in place for all subjects and for important areas such as special educational needs, assessment and personal, social, health and citizenship education. The roles of the co-ordinators are currently underdeveloped and need to encompass more opportunities for monitoring, particularly of teaching and learning through classroom observation. Although a rolling programme is in place for monitoring, much of this is led by the Senior Management Team and is not delegated effectively to all co- ordinators, particularly those responsible for a Foundation subject. This means that some co-ordinators do not have a clear overview of the teaching, learning and standards within their subjects and how to further improve standards. There is no non- contact time for subject co-ordinators to develop their leadership and management role.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
62. There has been satisfactory overall progress in monitoring since the last inspection. Suitable procedures and policies are now in place although these lack rigour. For example, although there is some good practice evident of sampling pupils' work, this is not consistent and sometimes merely records what has been seen rather than focusing on standards. The criteria for recording observations are often vague and descriptive and lack clarity, for instance, in judgements about the effectiveness of teaching. Although there can be action points it is not clear how these are to be followed up and how they feed into improvements in teaching.
p.24
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
63. The School Development Plan is a lengthy, detailed and extensive document with many priorities, appropriately costed with timescales and success criteria. There are a number of plans in place, which relate to each other and contribute to the overall plan. These have taken a considerable amount of planning and writing. However the result is that the overall plan lacks rigour and clarity in its aim of improving and raising standards. These documents need to be streamlined to enable priorities to be clearly identified.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
64. The Governing Body is well informed about the strengths of the school and is fully supportive of the school. There is a shared commitment along with the Senior St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 25 Management Team to improve. The Chair of the Governing Body has a good overview and is active in her support of the school. An appropriate committee structure is in place and governors have been involved in a range of training. They have a good understanding of the various strategic planning documents.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
65. The governor’s role in shaping the direction of the school is good. All governors have a link role with co-ordinators. Where these are well developed they enable governors to be better informed about curriculum matters as well as to develop good relationships with the staff. The governors are well informed of key issues for development in the school such as the restrictive nature of the building and the development of the information and communication technology suite. There is a rolling programme of governor monitoring and governors are kept informed about the curriculum through co- ordinator reports. However, these are often short and focus on purchases, extra curriculum activities and what has happened rather than standards and development. Consequently, the governors are not as secure in their awareness of raising standards in the curriculum and areas of weakness. The Governing Body fulfils its statutory duties
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
66. All staff have job descriptions. Performance Management systems are all in place and are effectively delegated across the Senior Management Team who have received appropriate training. In addition there is an annual professional development audit in which teachers identify their own targets for personal development. Whilst these are all in place they have not been used well enough to improve the overall quality of teaching. Support staff job descriptions are in place. Staff are aware of their line managers and have regular access to the headteacher. Annual reviews are not yet in place for all support staff.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
67. The school has achieved the Investors in People award and is rightly proud of this. As further development from this communication with all staff has improved through the ‘week to a view’ sheet. Guidance and support folders have been developed as a referral point for current and new staff. Appropriate induction procedures are in place for new staff.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
68. The leadership and management of special educational needs provision are satisfactory. The contribution made to this by the special educational needs co- ordinator is good. She maintains documentation efficiently, ensures Individual Education Plans are well written, has an astute understanding of the issues and can see where further progress needs to be made, especially in terms of making better provision for special educational needs pupils within their classes. She has a good vision for the development of special educational needs work in the school, communicates appropriately with parents and outside agencies and has an effective relationship with the designated governor, writing regular reports. She works very hard but is restricted in the extent to which she can manage and support the development of work in classes, as she receives no regular non-contact time. The school has a good policy for special educational needs. However, some of its key provisions, about
p.25
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
avoiding withdrawal from classes, providing appropriate differentiation for pupils with regular half termly reviews, and identifying special educational needs quickly and effectively are not always achieved well in practice. This needs to be better supported and monitored by senior staff. There is also insufficient clarity about who manages the day-to-day work of learning support assistants for pupils with special educational needs which leads to some confusion and lack of focus in the work of these staff.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
69. The school manages its finances effectively and actively seeks to ensure that the services it receives are provided at the best value. The detailed plans for the best St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 26 provision for the new computer suite are a good example of this, where various grants such as the National Grid for Learning and Seed Challenge have been used to fund this project. The governors and senior staff have taken account of the particular needs of the school such as ensuring effective sound proofing and adequate internal light and have sought the advice of technical experts and visited other schools to ensure that the needs of their own school are fully met. The school is fortunate that it benefits from generous funds raising by parents and pupils and has, for example spent money over the last two years to increase the library stock.
p.25
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
70. The school has, however, had to agree a to run a considerable overspend with the Local Education Authority because of unforeseen staff absences that are not covered by insurance. Also the high number of pupils in this year’s Reception intake and the extra spending on Learning Support Assistants have had an impact on the budget. Given the satisfactory leadership, the satisfactory standards of teaching overall and the pupils’ achievement, the school provides satisfactory value for money.
p.26
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
71. The match of teachers and support staff to the demands of the curriculum is satisfactory. Good use is made of opportunities for teachers to attend in-service courses and share what they learn on courses effectively with their colleagues. The school’s strategies for performance management are satisfactory. These strategies meet with recommendations and help teachers to review their performance and, where necessary, to plan for improvements. However, while these procedures are in place there is room to raise the overall quality of teaching further. Arrangements for the induction of new members of staff are good. These enable staff new to the school to settle in well and they quickly become familiar with the working procedures of the school. The mutual support provided by teachers for each other and that provided by the headteacher ensures that teachers feel their work is valued and that they can share
p.26
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
and resolve any problems they might have. The school works successfully in partnership with local teacher training institutions to provide effective opportunities for the training of new teachers.
p.26
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
72. The quality of the school accommodation is poor overall and has a clear impact upon pupils’ learning. The ‘open plan’ design of the main building restricts the ways in which teachers are able to teach. The teaching areas in the main building are over-crowded and there is little room for the pupils to move around. Teachers use the available space well, but they are constantly aware of the impact that any noise made by their teaching and by the work of their pupils has on others teaching in adjacent areas. Teachers do their best, but they frequently have to modify they way they teach to avoid disturbing colleagues and distracting pupils in other classes. For example, opportunities for teaching drama, conducting discussions and doing some aspects of investigative work have to be undertaken with great care to avoid disrupting the work of other, nearby, classes. Often such learning opportunities can only be provided successfully when the
p.26
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
nearby classes are being taught elsewhere. This means that the times at which some subjects can be taught have to be planned with great care and consideration for what others will be teaching at the same time.
p.26
HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
73. There are issues concerning shortfalls in health and safety issues connected to the accommodation, which need to be addressed immediately. Inspectors drew these issues to the attention of the governing body and headteacher.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
74. There are exceptions in the accommodation provided for music and physical education, which are satisfactory. Even so music cannot be taught in the teaching areas of the main building without disturbing other classes. However, the hall and the small music studio are used well for teaching the subject. The hall and school field are St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 27 used well for teaching physical education. The school grounds, which contain small areas of woodland, provide a stimulating environment in which the pupils can play at lunchtimes and during breaks. The grounds are also used well by teachers to support pupils’ learning, for example, in science.
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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?
75. Resources to support pupils’ learning are satisfactory overall. The exception is in art and design, in which resources are good. However, resources for religious education are unsatisfactory. Plans to provide a computer suite are well advanced. These plans, once in place, will help to alleviate the problems that teachers currently face in providing pupils with enough opportunities to work on computers by improving the quality of accommodation. Resources to support the learning of children in the Reception classes are satisfactory overall although the provision of apparatus for these pupils to play out of doors is unsatisfactory.
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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?
In order to improve the quality of education that the school provides, the Governing Body, headteacher and staff should:
p.27
WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?
1. improve the quality of the learning environment in order to reduce the impact
p.27
of noise distraction from adjoining class areas and provide sufficient
classroom space for pupils to move around whilst working. ( paragraphs 8, 12, 14, 21, 39, 72, 81, 97, 113)
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of noise distraction from adjoining class areas and provide sufficient
2. raise the standards in religious education and geography by the end of Key
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Stage 2 by:
• improving curriculum planning and teaching so that subject specific skills and concepts are taught in a progressive way, and that pupils are challenged appropriately. (paragraphs 32, 141-147, 175-182)
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teaching and learning by:
• drawing up and implementing a programme of regular and rigorous monitoring and evaluation of the work of the school to robust criteria that involves all senior staff and subject co-ordinators; • monitoring the effectiveness of procedures to identify and support pupils with special educational needs especially within day-to-day learning activities within the classroom; • monitoring the provision for children in the Foundation Stage of learning, especially when taught in mixed age classes; • developing further the marking of pupils’ work in all subjects so that it offers them clear guidance as to how they can improve; • ensuring that pupils have a clearer understanding of their learning targets and what they need to do to attain them. (paragraphs 27, 47, 50, 51, 61, 62, 81, 110, 126, 133, 146, 153, 168, 174, 180, 181, 182) St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 28
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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection
Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 44
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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection
Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor
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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection
The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching
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Information about the school’s pupils
Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 362
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Information about the school’s pupils
Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 2
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Information about the school’s pupils
Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 6
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Information about the school’s pupils
Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 25
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Information about the school’s pupils
English as an additional language No of pupils
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Information about the school’s pupils
Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0
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Information about the school’s pupils
Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils
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Information about the school’s pupils
Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 6
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Information about the school’s pupils
Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 6
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Attendance
National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5
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Attendance
Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 29
p.28
Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 25 24 49
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
Boys 24 24 24 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 24 24 24
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
Percentage of pupils School 98 (95) 98 (98) 98 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
Boys 24 24 25 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 24 24 24
p.29
Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
Percentage of pupils School 98 (95) 98 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)
Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)
Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 23 28 51
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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 20 17 22 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 26 23 25
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)
Percentage of pupils School 90 (90) 78 (90) 92 (96) 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 16 14 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 22 19 20
p.29
Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)
Percentage of pupils School 75 (90) 65 (88) 75 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)
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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)
Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 30
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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
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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year
White – any other White background 5 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 0 0 0
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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year
Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0
p.30
Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year
Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 0 0 0
p.30
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 refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 31
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 15 Financial year 2002/03
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 721,901
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Total number of education support staff 10 Total expenditure 738,857
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Total aggregate hours worked per week 180 Expenditure per pupil 2,152
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 15,380
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) n/a Balance carried forward to next year (1,576)
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Number of pupils per qualified teacher n/a
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Teachers and classes Financial information
Total number of education support staff n/a
p.31
Teachers and classes Financial information
Total aggregate hours worked per week n/a
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Recruitment of teachers
Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2.8
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Recruitment of teachers
Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 4
p.31
Recruitment of teachers
Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0
p.31
Recruitment of teachers
Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0
p.31
Recruitment of teachers
Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0
p.31
Recruitment of teachers
FTE means full-time equivalent. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 32
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
Percentage of responses in each category
p.32
Results of the survey of parents and carers
Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know
p.32
Results of the survey of parents and carers
My child is making good progress in school. 48 46 4 1 1
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
Behaviour in the school is good. 43 50 4 1 2
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 28 52 17 2 1
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 32 52 11 4 1
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 63 32 3 1 1
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 58 37 4 0 1
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
The school works closely with parents. 38 50 7 4 1
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
The school is well led and managed. 58 36 3 2 1
p.32
Results of the survey of parents and carers
The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 51 44 4 0 1
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Results of the survey of parents and carers
The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 31 43 16 5 5
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Summary of parents’ and carers’ responses
Parents are generally very pleased with the quality of education provided although several would like more out of school activities and the use of homework to be more systematic. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 33
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
76. The provision for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Provision remains similar to that seen in the previous inspection. However, more still needs to be done to ensure that the needs of the children are fully met, in outdoor play activities and through the use of large apparatus. This was identified at the previous inspection and remains an area for improvement. Consideration also needs to be given to ensure that Foundation Stage pupils in Year 1 classes receive the appropriate curriculum.
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
77. At the time of the inspection there were 62 children in the Foundation Stage, 51 divided between two Reception classes and 11 between two mixed age classes with Year 1 pupils. This is less than satisfactory as one class is based in the Key Stage 1 area of the school, entirely separated from the rest of the Foundation Stage. The Reception year children in mixed age classes are not receiving their full entitlement to play-based activities. The teachers try to overcome these difficulties and the children in mixed age classes join the rest of the Reception groups for play-based activities once or twice a week. As this is not on a daily basis, however, opportunities for play are limited.
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
78. Attainment on entry is above that expected nationally. The progress children make is satisfactory and they enter Year 1 having achieved the Early Learning Goals in knowledge and understanding of the world and physical and creative development and usually exceeding them in communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and personal, social and emotional development.
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
79. Children, including those with special needs, make satisfactory progress. No children with English as an additional language and no gifted and talented children were identified at the time of the inspection. Procedures for assessing the needs of those children with special educational needs are satisfactory but the identification of them at an early stage is not always formally recorded and there is no specific programme to meet their particular needs. They are, however, generally well supported by teaching assistants and parent helpers.
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
80. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is planned using the ‘Stepping Stones’ towards the Early Learning Goals for young children. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall. Teachers and support staff work closely together. Teachers have good relationships with the children and instil in them the need to try hard and do their best. The previous inspection identified the need for teachers to plan their short-term objectives in more detail and to some extent this is still the case. Some activities are too teacher directed and some free choice activities are not structured well enough to ensure they are always purposeful. Teachers’ evaluation of their lessons and assessments of children’s progress are satisfactory overall but do not always inform the next stage in children’s learning. Currently the use of support staff is not fully developed. For example, they could observe and record what children can and cannot
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
do to assist teachers in their assessments of children. There is a need too for training so that they can understand the nature of the Foundation Stage curriculum and extend children’s thinking in group work more effectively.
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
81. Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage are satisfactory. The co- ordinator has a satisfactory understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in provision and teaching and learning and works hard to raise the profile of the St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 34 Foundation Stage within the school. Monitoring of teaching and learning is through work sampling and discussions with teachers. Currently no time is allocated to the co- ordinator for monitoring teaching and learning through lesson observations and consequently monitoring is not effective enough. Resources for the Foundation Stage are satisfactory overall but there are gaps in provision, particularly large apparatus for physical development. The annual budget for the Foundation Stage is inadequate to purchase new equipment and meet the needs of the youngest children. The classrooms are of reasonable size overall. There is, however, some noise from
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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE
neighbouring classrooms in this open plan school, which sometimes detracts from quiet, reflective moments required by children and their teachers.
p.34
Personal, social and emotional development
82. The personal development of the children is good and standards are above the expected level for this age. Teaching and the progress children make are good. The majority of children are well behaved and polite. They are usually co-operative and relationships are good. They are successfully learning right from wrong and know their teachers trust them. They are interested and curious in their work and the world around them and want to succeed and do well. They take turns and share equipment and resources amicably. For example, children show great excitement and interest in some painted lady caterpillars and take turns sensibly to observe them through magnifiers. They show respect and concern for living creatures, releasing them carefully into a butterfly box. The children learn from each other, listening to others as they express their feelings to the rest of the class in a clear and concise way. Less well developed
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Personal, social and emotional development
are the opportunities to take the initiative in, for example, planning their own work or taking responsibility for their own learning. Although children were observed tidying up in the class “cafe” and home corner, adults do most of the clearing away when children have completed their tasks and consequently the children do not take responsibility for resources.
p.34
Communication, language and literacy
83. Children attain good standards in language and literacy by the time they reach Year 1 and make satisfactory progress over time. Most children have well-developed skills in speaking and listening. Teachers encourage them to speak in groups and in whole class sessions and help them respond to the contributions of others. They are developing a wide vocabulary. For example they use words such as “estimate” and “guess” and describe the life cycle of a butterfly, using the correct terms such as “caterpillar” and “pupa”. The role-play corner in one classroom is set up as a café and children select menus, order meals and serve as waiters and waitresses. This well planned activity promotes communication well.
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Communication, language and literacy
84. Children enjoy looking at books and are happy and confident to talk about what has been read. There are designated book corners in each classroom and children were observed selecting and reading books to themselves. Tape recordings of books are set out for children to listen to through headphones as they follow the words in the book. Literacy skills are promoted in sessions when teachers encourage children to recognise initial letter sounds and sound out consonant, vowel, consonant words. The higher attaining children read simple texts and use phonic as well as pictorial clues when they meet unfamiliar words. Lower attaining children begin to know that words and pictures carry meaning. Large storybooks are used effectively by teachers. Children begin to understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction books. Displays and some areas of the classroom are labelled well to ensure children are
p.34
Communication, language and literacy
exposed to the printed word throughout the day. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 35 85. Children recognise their own name and the majority write their names on their work. Children usually hold their pencils correctly and write recognisable letters. Teachers carefully model their expectations of the writing task and children begin to understand the purpose of writing. For example they write letters to a farmer, whom they will visit on an outing in the coming week, explaining what they would like to see on the farm. Children understand that letters usually begin with “Dear” and end with their name. They have learnt about addresses and posted letters to themselves in a real post box on the street. Most of the children know what a list is and write lists for shopping and the café. Teaching is sound overall and focused on all the literacy skills and tasks generally match the needs of the children. However, teachers need to provide further
p.34
Communication, language and literacy
challenge in writing in order that children will make good progress in relation to their overall ability.
p.35
Mathematical development
86. Children’s mathematical development is good and above the expected level for their age by the time they enter Year 1. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and children make satisfactory progress. The majority of children count and match numbers to ten confidently and higher attaining children count to twenty. Children say with confidence that a number is one or two more or less than a given number. They explain which number is bigger than another and which is smaller. The majority add single digits together and order the sequence of numbers to twenty. All children enjoy reciting number rhymes and like playing number games.
p.35
Mathematical development
87. Children know some of the properties of two-dimensional shapes, such as squares and circles and many children make alternate patterns with two or three shapes. They learn about the days of the week and the hour hand on an analogue clock. They know and understand the term “estimate” as meaning a “good guess” and begin to develop mathematical ideas and estimations when they cook and use construction toys. They find objects around the room that are heavier or lighter than a can of beans and record the results by drawing them on paper. They use 1p and 2p coins in the café and begin to develop an understanding of a bill in purchasing goods. Only in one classroom was the water tray in use, which limits opportunities overall for children to experiment with mass, the properties of water and the concept of “full” “half full” and “empty”. Too many activities are very formal in nature and there are not enough opportunities for learning
p.35
Knowledge and understanding of the world
88. Teaching and learning in this area are satisfactory. Children’s achievement is at the expected level by the time they enter the Year 1 classes. They grow tomato plants and petunias in pots outside and know that the plants need light and water to grow healthily. They understand that when ice melts it forms water. They learn about the life cycle of the frog and butterfly and watch tadpoles and caterpillars moving and growing. They show respect and interest in living things. Children bring photographs into school of themselves as babies and toddlers. They compare them with how they look today and start to develop a sense of chronology. They begin to understand simple maps and develop early geography skills through a walk around the school grounds, related to a story, although staff miss opportunities to extend children’s thinking in geographical terms. When working with construction toys, children show perseverance as they
p.35
Knowledge and understanding of the world
develop skills in designing and making wheeled vehicles such as police cars to park at a police station. Children take part in suitable religious education activities. 89. Children have regular access to computers and many are competent users both in school and at home. They have good mouse control and understand how to operate a St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 36 simple program. Two children were observed using the Colour Magic program to paint pictures saying, “We’re making a haunted castle”. When using another program a child was observed clicking and dragging items to clothe the teddy bear and move objects across the screen. All children have written their names using different fonts. Children show independence in their ability to operate the programs and good knowledge, skills and understanding. Teaching is satisfactory in this area.
p.35
Knowledge and understanding of the world
90. Attainment in this area is at the expected level and teaching is satisfactory. In indoor activities children make satisfactory progress and achieve appropriately. Their fine motor control is developing well and they use pencils, paint, glue and scissors with increasing dexterity. They connect pieces of construction kits together to make simple models and play imaginatively with them. Children are beginning to move around with increasing control. In one good lesson in the hall, children skipped in and out of spaces, taking “giant” strides around the room and changing from curled positions to full stretches, as if “exploding”. They enjoy the activities and try hard with their movements. Most dress and undress for physical activities carefully. They learn about the need for healthy living, including exercise and healthy options in their food. They chop up fruit to make a fruit salad, using appropriate children’s knives, which they handle well.
p.36
Knowledge and understanding of the world
91. Less well developed are the opportunities for outdoor play. There are no large pieces of apparatus such as a climbing frame, on which children can practise their physical skills and although there are four tricycles these are used infrequently. This element of the Foundation Stage curriculum is unsatisfactory and has not improved sufficiently since the previous inspection.
p.36
Creative development
92. Teaching in this area of learning is satisfactory and pupils make satisfactory progress in their creative development. They enjoy painting, gluing, modelling and drawing. They have opportunities to work with a variety of materials. They paint satisfactory portraits of their best friends and make collage pictures of caterpillars and butterflies. They fold paper to make a bird’s wings and create ‘walking’ puppets from card into which they insert their fingers. Children use playdough in a satisfactory manner to make caterpillars and clay to make cats, ducks and pigs, related to a story they have read. They look at famous paintings of faces, animals and plants and draw their own examples. They make satisfactory progress when baking cakes in the children’s kitchen and cut up fruit for fruit salad. Work on display indicates that children are developing reasonable manipulative and imaginative skills.
p.36
Creative development
93. In both Foundation Stage classrooms there are role-play corners. In one, children dress up and act out a variety of roles around the home and in the other, children act out the role of waiters, waitresses and customers in a class café. This helps extend both their social development and speaking skills. However, children are not often supported in these activities, which could be structured to extend children’s learning even further. Children enjoy singing songs and playing instruments. They match actions to songs and sing songs from memory. They begin to recognise simple rhythms and understand that different instruments produce different sounds. Opportunities, however, are limited to select instruments throughout the day and experiment with sounds and rhythms on their own and staff miss the chance to extend children’s skills even further.
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ENGLISH
St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 37 94. The school has made good progress in English since the previous inspection. National Curriculum tests for 2002 show that by the time they leave the school at the end of Year 6, the pupils’ attainment in English is above the national average, and average when compared to similar schools. The tests in 2002 for pupils at the end of Year 2 show that pupils’ attainment in reading is above average nationally and average when compared to similar schools. Results in the writing tests at the age of seven are in line with the national average but below average when compared to similar schools.
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ENGLISH
95. Inspection findings are that in the current Year 6, standards are well above average. Progress for all pupils in writing has been better over the last year because of the school’s ‘Sparkling Writing’ initiatives that have improved standards in writing right across the school. When these pupils entered the school their attainment was above average overall. All pupils make good progress. Those pupils who have special educational needs make good progress because they are identified early and given very effective support. This is particularly effective, when the very capable learning support assistants working in a highly structured way teach these pupils in small groups.
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ENGLISH
96. Pupils’ attainment in the present Year 2 is well above average in all aspects of the English curriculum and these pupils have made good progress since they entered the school. This is partly because of consistently good teaching in Year 2, and also because of the recent emphasis on raising standards in writing.
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ENGLISH
97. The factor that has the greatest impact on the learning and the teaching of literacy throughout the school is the unsuitability of the open plan accommodation. The noise from one class often penetrates to another and makes it difficult to carry out some activities. The impact is most severe on any activity that requires any level of verbal communication, such as drama activities or any lesson that requires focused listening such as a pupil reading out a piece of work to the whole class. The impact of this does vary depending on which area the pupils are working in and what other lesson is going on immediately adjoining them. The teachers and the pupils have become extremely adept at overcoming the worst effects of the accommodation but frequently the impact of the adjoining lesson affects other pupils’ learning.
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ENGLISH
98. Virtually all the Key Stage 1 pupils attain the expected standard in speaking and listening and about a third of the pupils exceed them. Within the limits of the poor accommodation, the school has put great emphasis on developing speaking and listening skills by including focused discussion and partner work in lessons. Pupils of all abilities are encouraged to speak in front of the class and publicly in assemblies. Homework, such as individual research topics and many reading activities, ensures detailed discussions at home between pupils and parents. The school makes great efforts to ensure that a range of interesting speakers visit and talk to the pupils in assemblies and in class. By the age of seven, almost all the pupils pay close attention to instructions and listen carefully when texts are read to them. Almost all are confident speakers who take part in group and class discussions in which they listen and
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ENGLISH
99. By the end of Key Stage 2, the pupils’ speaking and listening skills are very well developed. Nearly half the pupils reach the higher level in this area of literacy. Nearly all the pupils listen carefully to instructions and to the contributions of other pupils. This is particularly the case in literacy lessons, where the pupils listen to, and discuss a wide range of texts. The pupils make good progress in developing their speaking skills by, for example, engaging in debates such as ‘Should Animals perform in Circuses? Poets St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 38 and storytellers have visited the school as well as a variety of visitors who give interesting presentations and further develop pupils’ listening skills. The school is also very active in ensuring that the pupils see plays and pantomimes as part of the curriculum. However speaking and listening activities in the class area have to be very
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ENGLISH
carefully planned to take account of the poor accommodation. For example when a group of pupils were conducting an excellent interview with the local vicar, the pupils at the back of this extremely cramped teaching area found it very difficult to hear because of the conversations of the pupils in another Year 6 area.
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ENGLISH
100. All pupils make good progress in their reading so that by the end of Year 2 standards are well above average. Those pupils who have special educational needs also make good progress because of very effective support from skilled teaching assistants. The help of parents who come in to supervise reading groups is very effective and reinforces the pupils’ learning and allows discussion of texts in the difficult open area learning environment. The school has made the teaching of reading a high priority. One strategy that is particularly effective right across the school is the way the teachers focus on a particular author, such as Alan Ahlberg, for a period of about two weeks and study that particular author’s techniques. The pupils have the opportunity to read and analyse a selection of that author’s books in the group reading sessions. All pupils read regularly to the teacher or classroom assistant and this reading is very closely tracked
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ENGLISH
and monitored. In both key stages parents are also very involved in this, and the vast majority of pupils receive great support at home in their reading, which has a very positive impact on their learning.
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ENGLISH
101. By the end of Year 6 pupils’ attainment in reading is well above the national average and around half the pupils read at the higher levels. Progress in reading is good because the school puts great emphasis on encouraging reading in many ways. The ‘Buddy Reading’ is a good example of this where Year 6 pupils gain great satisfaction from helping younger and less able pupils to develop their reading. The school provides many opportunities for the pupils to discuss and share their favourite authors and identify what they like about the characters or plot. Lower attaining pupils are given very effective support in small groups by the Learning Support Assistants who use very structured methods that have a great emphasis on teaching the pupils to understand how sounds are written and built up into words.
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ENGLISH
102. The previous inspection noted the over emphasis on reading schemes and a lack of access to a broad range of fiction, poetry and non-fiction from which to make choices. Although the school has spent a considerable amount of money on improving reading provision, there are still too few copies of popular children’s books in the library. Many of the reference books have come to the end of their life and need replacing. The range of fiction books, particularly for the more able readers is still limited. Both teachers and pupils attempt to redress this by bringing in their own books but the school still needs more books. For example, high attaining readers discussed why they liked particular books, but none of these books were available in school. Also pupils who become ‘free readers ‘ still do not have a sufficient choice of real reading books. Because of the impact of pupil movement around the school with the library area being used as
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ENGLISH
teaching space, pupils do not have the freedom to use the library either independently or in groups or classes, as much as they or their teachers would like. This also limits the development of pupils’ personal research skills in school.
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ENGLISH
103. Pupils’ attainment in writing when they enter the school is not as high as in some other areas. However, since the most recent inspection, standards in writing in both key stages have improved because of the ‘Sparkling Writing’ initiatives. A greater proportion of pupils now achieve at the higher levels. The very focused work in a short St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 39 sharp session at the beginning of the day to improve writing levels has been very effective. The way all pupils are set very relevant targets that are reviewed regularly has also contributed to the improvement in writing. However this is a very recent initiative and has not yet had time to have full effect.
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ENGLISH
104. Standards in writing attained at the end of Year 2 are well above average and all pupils make good progress. Those pupils who have special difficulties with their writing make good progress because of well-targeted work and skilled support from teaching assistants and parent volunteers. By Year 2 virtually all the pupils write familiar words correctly and compose a sequence of sentences in longer pieces of work. Their books show well presented written work with many pupils using joined handwriting. They write for a variety of purposes and for different audiences using other areas of the curriculum such as design and technology, history and science.
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ENGLISH
105. The standards attained by pupils in writing at the end of Year 6 are well above average. The recent initiatives by the school have had great effect. For example pupils produce very effective opening paragraphs, that hook the readers attention, using H G Well’s ‘War of the Worlds’ as a model. There is a great emphasis on using a wide range of writing that includes stories, poems, factual writing, letters, biographies, play-scripts and diaries. The work is often inspired by studying and analysing the work of authors of books that the pupils particularly like. There is a strong emphasis on teaching grammar. As a result pupils successfully use speech marks, paragraphing and other forms of punctuation. All pupils enjoy composing poems such as when they use Kit Wright’s ‘Magic Box’ poem to compose their own. They use some lovely lines such as I will put into my box, “A Blue Whale’s calming song, the last leaf of summer…”
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ENGLISH
Standards of handwriting, presentation and spelling are well above average.
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ENGLISH
106. The quality of teaching is good in both key stages. Teachers make good use of the Local Education Authority’s models in their planning and this has been very effective. All teachers make good use of learning resources, use explanation and discussion effectively and establish good relationships with the pupils. Management of pupils is very good and to some extent compensates for the extra difficulties the open plan accommodation imposes. Assessment is used effectively to set appropriate work for certain groups of pupils, and teachers’ marking is constructively critical and sets targets for development. The school has started to set individual targets for pupils and already this has had some impact. Across the whole school particular homework tasks are well used to support literacy skills.
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ENGLISH
107. Leadership and management of the subject are good. The subject co-ordinator has a good understanding of how English is taught across the school and has monitored some teaching and formal lesson observations have been used to support and improve the teaching of literacy. The school has already raised standards in writing and is well positioned to improve these further. The recently changed target setting system is more effective than the previous system because the targets are smarter and more relevant for the individual pupils. Also the teachers can now more easily track the targets. However the pupils need to become more involved in the identification of their own targets and more aware of how they can be related to the learning objectives that relate to each level of the literacy curriculum.
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MATHEMATICS
108. The standards attained in national tests in Key Stage 1 have been above the national average, year on year since 2000, with results being very high in 2001 but with a slight St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 40 dip in 2002. While standards in 2002 are above the national average, they are average in comparison to similar schools. Standards are well above average at the end of Key Stage 2 and above average when compared to similar schools. Overall the results in mathematics have been rising except for a dip in 2002. There are no significant differences in the attainment of boys and girls. Pupils who have special educational needs and the very small number who learn English as an additional language make similar progress to others. Identified high attaining Year 6 pupils are working at appropriate levels. The progress that different groups of pupils make is good. Inspection evidence shows that standards in mathematics are above average by the
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MATHEMATICS
end of Year 2 and Year 6. Overall standards have remained similar to those seen in the previous inspection of the school.
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MATHEMATICS
109. Pupils make good progress in developing number skills in Year 1 and Year 2. By the age of seven pupils have good number skills and apply these well in problem solving activities. Pupils count with accuracy in 2s, 5s and 10s by the age of seven. They use the strategy of doubling to make the calculations easier. Year 1 pupils count with reasonable accuracy numbers 1 to 50 or to 100. They read, order and write numbers up to 20 accurately. Year 2 pupils tell the time in hours and half-hours and have a good understanding of the properties of two and three-dimensional shapes.
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MATHEMATICS
110. In Key Stage 1 pupils develop their ability to use and apply mathematical thinking well through problem solving activities. They apply their knowledge of numbers to solving money problems, giving the correct amount of change using the fewest coins during break-time shopping experiences. Pupils use their mathematical skills effectively in their work in other subjects. For example in their topic work, they used their skills of collecting data and presenting this in colourful block graphs about their favourite food and pets. The basic skills of numeracy are well taught in all classes. In some classes the marking of pupils work shows pupils how they can improve their work further and the use of praise promotes pupils’ confidence although in other classes this is less effective.
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MATHEMATICS
111. In Year 3 to Year 6 pupils continue to make good progress in all aspects of mathematics and particularly in number work. In some classes they are making very good progress. They confidently work on long multiplication and use various strategies to check their results, measuring time and distances or percentages by reversing the operations or estimating the answers. Pupils have a good knowledge of geometric shapes, measuring and drawing angles correctly. Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 understand negative numbers and use them in calculations. Those in the higher attaining groups match fractions, decimals and percentages. For example, they know that 1/5 is 20% and can be converted to a decimal of 0.2. Their developing mental agility enables them to work out quickly and accurately various complex calculations and to check their results through approximations.
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MATHEMATICS
112. Mental computation is good in both key stages and older pupils enjoy the challenges set in quick-fire opening sessions to lessons. Year 3 and Year 4 pupils interpret and present data in various forms including charts and graphs. Most Year 6 pupils are confident in working out prices for different items including sale prices and how the shopkeeper can make profits by applying their basic mathematical skills of long multiplication.
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MATHEMATICS
113. The quality of teaching is good across the school and sometimes very good in Year 3 to Year 5 and in some groups of Year 6 pupils. Teachers have good subject knowledge and use this to effect to ensure lessons are well planned to reflect the National Numeracy Strategy. Teachers explain things well and manage pupils well even in the St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 41 poor accommodation where noise intrudes in lessons. Teachers make good use of the starting session to probe pupils’ understanding and help them to clarify their thinking by verbalising strategies. The key factor in improving standards is that teachers share lesson objectives with pupils at the start of the lessons and checking to see if they have been successful at the end of the session. This provides pupils with a good focus for what they are doing.
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MATHEMATICS
114. Assessment procedures are satisfactory overall. The school makes use of a suitable range of statutory and optional tests and uses the information gained to inform future planning in a satisfactory manner. However, the use of ongoing assessment and informing forward planning is not consistent across the school. Staff have not sufficiently identified where best practice exists and used this as a model for whole school development. Teachers set individual teaching targets for older pupils in Year 3 to Year 6, although target setting practice has been only started in recent months.
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MATHEMATICS
115. Pupils are keen to learn mathematics. They listen attentively, volunteer responses readily and co-operate productively in groups. Not enough use is made of information and communication technology to support their work. However, pupils are effectively encouraged to apply their mathematical skills through other subjects. For example they measure accurately in design and technology and use their mathematical skills during scientific experiments.
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MATHEMATICS
116. Mathematics is well managed by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable co-ordinator. She is committed to raising standards by extending the opportunities to evaluate teaching and learning throughout the school. She is keen to help colleagues develop numeracy skills even further in activities across the curriculum. However, there is a need to share good practice across the school and bring about consistency to further raise standards. Whilst computers are used in some activities to support the mathematical curriculum opportunities are sometimes missed in lessons where this would be entirely suitable.
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SCIENCE
117. The 2002 end of Key Stage 1 teacher assessments for science show that pupils' attainment is well above the national average. The 2002 end of Key Stage 2 test results show that pupils' attainment is in line with the national average but below average when compared to similar schools.
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SCIENCE
118. The inspection findings indicate that attainment is above national expectations at the end of both key stages and that pupils make good progress overall, both in their understanding and knowledge of the subject. The lack of suitable accommodation presents an ongoing problem for staff and makes it more difficult to organise practical activities as it inhibits easy movement and opportunities for discussion. Despite this the school has made good progress since the last inspection. A new co-ordinator has ensured that resources are satisfactory with purchasing linked to the scheme of work. This scheme of work ensures that pupils’ learning builds in a continuous and progressive manner upon what the pupils know, understand and can do. The school has a much more focused approach than previously to an investigative and questioning approach to science, interweaving this into the other aspects of the curriculum. Pupils
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SCIENCE
enjoy the practical nature of science. In a Year 2 science lesson great excitement builds up as bulbs light up. Pupils co-operate well with each other and share resources. Their work is well presented. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 42 119. In Key Stage 1 pupils have a good awareness of how to carry out investigations and experiments. Pupils in Year 2 show a good understanding of fair testing during an investigation into melting ice cubes. They are aware of the need to keep ice cubes the same size and in the same place and are able to make good predictions. Work in Year 2 on minibeasts develops their understanding of habitats effectively as well as enabling pupils to predict what they might find and identify why an animal was found there, for example, looking for food or sheltering. Pupils develop good links with literacy by developing their own minibeast dictionaries.
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SCIENCE
120. By the end of Year 2 pupils have a good understanding of life and living things. In Year 1 pupils describe the external features of plants and make good observations when comparing living and artificial plants. Pupils in Year 2 draw block graphs and answer questions from the graphs well. Higher attaining pupils make and use a tally chart to draw their graphs. Higher attaining pupils in Year 1 are aware of and label the external parts of the body and plants. Pupils are aware of the conditions needed for the healthy growth of plants and are able to make good observations. Higher attaining pupils in Year 2 predict what will happen to plants grown in different places and can draw the life cycle of a flower. Higher attaining pupils identify how different animals move. The school environment is used well to support work. A local visit enhances work on minibeasts and gives the pupils further opportunities to identify and search for them in
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SCIENCE
121. At the age of seven pupils have a good understanding of materials and their properties. Higher attaining pupils in Year 1 show good work on sorting suitable papers for writing, whilst higher attaining pupils in Year 2 sort materials into natural and manmade materials and use a wide range of vocabulary to describe the materials. Pupils in Key Stage 1 also have good understanding of physical processes. Higher attaining pupils in Year 1 are able to identify what gives light and what reflects light. Year 2 pupils are able to make simple circuits, draw good pictures with labels and give clear explanations as to how the bulb lights up. Higher attaining pupils are able to predict and investigate whether the length of wire makes a difference to the bulb.
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SCIENCE
122. Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good overall progress and have a good understanding of scientific enquiry. Year 4 pupils are able to say why a test is fair and if it is not, what needs to be done to make it fair. These pupils make good predictions and present their information well when measuring temperature trends around the building. At the end of Key Stage 2 lower attaining pupils are able to place the results of an investigation into a table but are not able to draw a line graph from this information. Higher attaining pupils have a good understanding of fair testing and form conclusions from their results. They are able to draw appropriate line graphs. The development of a practical, investigative approach across the school is being well developed despite the restrictions of the building, which inhibits pupils’ movement; choices of materials, further opportunities to discuss and opportunities to make repeated tests and improvements. There are good
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SCIENCE
information and communication technology and numeracy links when measuring hands and feet with results displayed in a range of tables and graphs. 123. As pupils move through Key Stage 2 they develop a good understanding of life and living processes through their work on healthy bodies. Year 5 pupils show a good understanding of the interdependence of humans, animals and plants and are developing their understanding of decay. They are aware that decay can be both harmful and beneficial and that the organisms which cause decay are living. Excellent use is made of an electronic microscope. Year 6 pupils have good understanding of life processes. Pupils can describe the main functions of the heart and how circulation works. They are aware of the benefits of exercise and recovery rates after exercise. By the end of the key stage lower attaining pupils are aware of the conditions needed for St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 43
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SCIENCE
growth. Pupils are aware of food chains and can follow a key. Higher attaining pupils show a good understanding of photosynthesis.
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SCIENCE
124. By the end of Year 6 pupils have good awareness of materials and their properties. Year 3 pupils demonstrate an understanding of what makes a good insulator and are able to investigate different materials to consider their suitability as insulation material. Pupils in Year 5 have a good understanding of technical vocabulary such as particles and crystallisation when they are investigating how to separate salt from water. Pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 give clear explanations in investigations to dissolve materials and make solids dissolve quicker. In Key Stage 2 pupils also develop their understanding of physical processes well. Pupils in Year 3 make good designs for torches. By the end of the key stage pupils have a wider knowledge of circuits and draw good, clear diagrams. Pupils have a good understanding of gravity and the relationship between the earth, moon and sun.
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SCIENCE
125. The teaching of science is good across both key stages. Staff have developed the use of questions well to encourage the pupils to describe what they think and observe. Planning is often good and encompasses an investigative approach, encouraging predictions and conclusions. The best worksheets are used as prompt sheets in developing pupils’ thinking skills. Occasionally there are missed opportunities to further develop pupils' understanding. For example in a lesson on living and artificial plants the pupils were encouraged to observe differences but not similarities. Teachers often focus on pupils with special educational needs to ensure they understand the task and on occasions work has been modified to reflect their needs. Teachers ensure that safety is discussed. In a Year 2 lesson the possibility of batteries overloading circuits was discussed and in Year 5 safety was discussed as part of a lesson on micro-
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SCIENCE
organisms. Time is lost as teachers manage distribution of resources in a small space and lessons can be too teacher directed.
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SCIENCE
126. The co-ordinator has a good overview of science and has been active in helping staff develop a scientific, questioning and investigative approach to the curriculum. This is through demonstrating such techniques personally as well as ensuring training for other staff. It is difficult for teachers to further develop investigative approaches given the restriction of the building. Although the co-ordinator is tracking assessment data from the end of units of work this is not used consistently enough to inform teaching and raise standards. Limited monitoring of pupils' work has helped to inform the co- ordinator. However the co-ordinator has few opportunities to monitor across the school to address issues of inconsistencies between parallel classes, or to ensure time is used effectively. Homework is occasionally used to support the curriculum. The school has made good use of its grounds to support the curriculum. A number of external
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SCIENCE
visits and visitors have been used to enhance the curriculum. Recently the school has received an award for being an animal friendly school. However, there is not enough evidence across the school of using information and communication technology to support science.
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ART AND DESIGN
127. Standards in art and design by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are at an average level as they were at the time of the previous inspection of the school. The school values work done in art and takes pride and care in displaying work to a high standard. This emphasises well the efforts of pupils, and particularly where space is confined, the work of higher attaining pupils. Staff also have sensitivity to the need to value the work of all pupils and take time and trouble to ensure all work is displayed in turn or within art folders and portfolios. Because artwork is so attractively displayed around school this St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 44 makes a good contribution to supporting pupils’ aesthetic development and cultural awareness. This represents satisfactory overall improvement since the time of the last inspection.
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ART AND DESIGN
128. Pupils make satisfactory overall progress and occasionally this is good particularly at the end of both key stages. Examples of work from the past year indicate that an average proportion of pupils exceed the expected levels for their ages. Pupils with special educational needs and the very small number speaking English as an additional language make satisfactory progress in relation to their prior levels of learning and gain confidence from their successes in art. Two Year 6 pupils have recently attended a course for gifted and talented artists. There is no difference in the attainment of boys and girls.
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ART AND DESIGN
129. By the age of seven, the great majority of pupils have made at least satisfactory progress in developing their drawing skills and are confident in using a good range of drawing media including pencils, charcoal, pencil crayons and oil pastels. Sketchbooks show pupils are developing their appreciation of art and artists by looking at the work of eight different artists leading to an ability to identify what type of expression and effects the artist creates. In Year 2 pupils have created some satisfactory collage work and make good progress when creating a sculpture related to the seaside, using man made and natural materials. They are beginning to appreciate the good features in the work they do themselves and to evaluate the work of others and to suggest improvements. Pupils in Year 1 make satisfactory progress in using clay when studying the work of Barbara Hepworth. However, the emphasis in these lessons is more on
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ART AND DESIGN
writing about the work of sculptors than on the pupils producing their own work.
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ART AND DESIGN
130. By the age of eleven, pupils have made satisfactory overall progress in developing their knowledge, skills and understanding in art and several pupils have made good progress. Pupils have drawing skills that are generally average. Sketchbooks are used satisfactorily to explore and develop ideas for use in later work, although more could be made of this to practice and refine particular skills. The pupils experience an appropriate range of two and three-dimensional work and develop growing expertise in using different creative media, showing awareness of the visual and tactile qualities in the materials and processes they use.
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ART AND DESIGN
131. In Key Stage 2 pupils make satisfactory overall progress, but there are examples of good progress. Samples of recent work show that many pupils in Year 6 have made good progress in producing work in the pop-art and op-art styles of the 1960’s and 70’s. Pupils have worked carefully on this pattern work creating some good black and white or two colour op-art swirling patterns. They have also enjoyed creating textile collages of Marilyn Monroe's face in the style of Andy Warhol's work linked to their history studies. While the overall quality of this work is average some of the work produced in the style of famous artists and on pattern is good although there is less evidence of recent work using three dimensions. 132. The quality of teaching is satisfactory over time and during the inspection this was often good. Lessons are appropriately planned and fully inclusive to give all pupils, including
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ART AND DESIGN
those with special educational needs, an appropriately wide range of learning opportunities. Some teachers have good subject knowledge and expertise and this has a beneficial impact on the way in which they directly teach the necessary skills to enable all pupils to make progress. However, sometimes throughout the school more could be done to teach the small steps necessary to improve sketching skills. The good behaviour of pupils in restricted space makes a good contribution to the progress they make. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 45 133. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory with some good features. The subject benefits from the work of joint co-ordinators who are keen and enthusiastic and who are able to provide informed support to colleagues. However, there are no formal opportunities for the co-ordinators to monitor the quality of teaching across the school although they try hard to monitor work through liaising with colleagues. However,
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ART AND DESIGN
this has not sufficiently identified that the work in sketchbooks is of very variable quality, illustrating that in some classes such activities have not been seen as important areas to develop pupils’ skills. Work is often unmarked and undated and is of only limited use as an assessment tool to measure what progress the pupils make over time.
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ART AND DESIGN
134. The policy and scheme of work provide a secure basis for teaching all aspects of art and the subject is resourced to a good level. Planning shows that over time in most classes, opportunities are provided for pupils to experience working with a range of media and in two and three-dimensional activities. Although the scheme of work provides for assessment of the pupils’ progress at the end of each unit, there is scope for strengthening assessment procedures so that teachers have a clear picture of individual pupils’ progress against the national curriculum expectations. Whilst there are opportunities to use information and communication technology to support the subject there is room to improve this area. The extra-curricular art club and sewing club provide good opportunities for pupils to develop their expertise and creativity outside lessons. Work in the subject makes a positive contribution to pupils’ spiritual,
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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
135. It was not possible to observe any design and technology lessons during the inspection. Therefore judgements are based on the evidence gathered from the scrutiny of the pupils’ work, the subject co-ordinator’s portfolio, from teachers’ planning, from talking to pupils, teachers and the subject co-ordinator and from the considerable amount of pupils’ work on display. This evidence shows that standards are above average at the end of both key stages and all pupils make good progress. Standards have been maintained since the most recent inspection.
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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
136. Pupils in Key Stage 1 are provided with a good range of activities to develop their design and making skills. For example in Year 2, the pupils design and make a multi- coloured coat for Joseph to link with work they are doing in religious education. They plan their design and decide how the coat is going to be decorated. When their design is complete they review their efforts and make suggestions as to how it could have been improved-for example by adding more sequins and making the neck bigger. They make very good links with their work in Literacy by designing and making finger puppets who are characters in the story of ‘The Badly Behaved Princess.’ This leads on to work on Hand Puppets who take part in a play that is specially written for them. Because the accommodation is so cramped and unsuited to practical activities, particularly because of the impact this has on adjoining classes, a considerable
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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
amount of design and technology work is done as homework. To the brief of designing ’Something that uses a wind-up mechanism,’ the pupils make some excellent designs such as a wishing well with a plastic bucket that is raised by a winding mechanism. Younger pupils make some very detailed models of swings and give accurate and detailed descriptions of their models-‘ I used stickle bricks for the frame and blutak and card and string to make my swing.’ In food technology Year 1 pupils plan and make healthy meals such as a fruit salad incorporating tropical fruits to link with their geography work on Africa. Year 2 pupils make good links with shape work in mathematics when they design and make various wheeled vehicles that have axles St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 46 and wheels. Standards in design and technology are above average and many pupils attain at the higher levels.
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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
137. By the end of Key Stage 2, the pupils are achieving above national expectations. They have further expanded their knowledge of the design process and are able to make successful designs as well as construct the functional outcomes. For example they study how structures are designed for strength and are given opportunities to carry out practical work on erecting the framework of structures. They look at different shelters across the world and carry out their own research on the Internet to gain more details of these. This develops their understanding on how crucial the link is between a structure’s design and its strength, in preparation for designing and making their own shelter and this develops their moral and cultural development well.
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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
138. Year 6 pupils are set a range of activities when they are designing slippers. They identify the needs for footwear that will make it attractive to the buyer: the pattern, colour, shape, texture and the materials to be used. When they design their footwear they incorporate the elements effectively. They draw and make their footwear items with care. There are good links with Information and communication technology when pupils develop their understanding of how packaging carries information and begin to appreciate the marketing aspects of packaging. As in Key Stage 1 many of the pupils’ design and technology projects are completed at home. In upper Key Stage 2 there was an excellent range of fairground attractions that all worked by using axles and some form of gearing to make them move. Some were also powered by electric motors. All had been made at home and the pupils’ enthusiasm for the subject was
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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
139. On the limited evidence available, it is clear that teaching of design and technology is good. The outcomes of teaching show good planning and preparation, clear explanations and high expectations. The pupils are proud of their work and this was reflected in the standard of their planning, their drawings and the thoughtful way they had described their conclusions. It is also evident that there are good links with the wider curriculum.
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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
140. Leadership and management of the subject are good. The scheme of work effectively supports the curriculum and ensures that the planning and teaching of the subject develops the pupils’ skills. The co-ordinator is currently ensuring that the new design and technology curriculum is more fully integrated into the wider curriculum, especially information and communication technology and numeracy and links with specific topics that are covered by other subjects. A portfolio of levelled work is being assembled that will ensure more consistent assessment of pupils’ work throughout the school. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 47
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GEOGRAPHY
141. Attainment by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 is below national expectations. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and English as an additional language, make unsatisfactory progress. Given their ability, attainment in other subjects, good levels of general knowledge and interest in geography, the pupils’ achievement, against what should be expected, is poor. Geography formed part of a key issue for action at the last inspection and progress since then has been unsatisfactory.
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GEOGRAPHY
142. By the end of Year 2, pupils show some understanding of physical and human features of different places, including a village in Mexico. They do not always see how these features fit together, to give places a particular character, tending to see things in isolation. Some of their knowledge is rather superficial and not sufficiently detailed. Some pupils ask and respond to questions about the local environment but cannot always offer suitable reasons for their observations or show how people can affect it, which would take them to a higher level of attainment. Pupils are able to identify some coastal formations correctly and recognise a number of features on world maps, such as Africa or the Pacific Ocean. Some pupils draw and use simple maps effectively. Overall, however, their mapping skills are not adequately developed, sometimes involving colouring in photocopies without clear purpose. Year 2 pupils speak and write
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GEOGRAPHY
about their geographical work articulately and with some interest. However, their geographical skills and knowledge do not match their linguistic and presentational ability.
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GEOGRAPHY
143. By the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment remains below national expectations. Their understanding of topics covered, including mountains, rivers and improving the local village are at too simple a level and their geographical skills and knowledge are underdeveloped. For example, they do not usually use grid references accurately and, overall, their mapping skills are insufficiently precise. Their understanding of geographical patterns and the nature of places within particular locations, as well as the reasons why people may hold different views about environmental change are not sufficiently developed.
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GEOGRAPHY
144. The enquiry and investigative skills of pupils in Key Stage 2 are not well enough established. For example, when given the opportunity, about half of the older pupils, working independently, identify some sensible questions to ask local people about what the effects might be if the local high street was to be pedestrianised. The other pupils are too reliant on the teacher to be able to do so confidently. The opportunities for pupils to pursue geographical enquiries are very limited and when such activities do take place they are sometimes left unfinished or not pursued far enough. This is evident from the scrutiny of pupils’ work, which shows that many could attain more than is made possible by the rather straightforward tasks they are usually given. These tasks are often at too low a level to enable pupils to achieve even at the expected Level 4, and no pupils are attaining at a level above national expectations although a considerable
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GEOGRAPHY
145. Teaching is unsatisfactory. Over time, not enough geographical work is carried out, leading to a lack of depth in pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Geographical skills are not developed in a systematic, incremental way as pupils progress through the school. Geography has a low priority and other subjects squeeze it out. The work set is not sufficiently challenging for most pupils and is rarely set at different levels to meet particular needs. There are too few opportunities for pupils to undertake fieldwork and pursue enquiry or investigational tasks, meaning that they are over dependent on their teachers. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 48 146. The work set for pupils is not always as motivating as it could be and, quite often is more language based than having a sound geographical purpose. This is reflected in the marking, which only very occasionally supports pupils in their development of
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GEOGRAPHY
specifically geographical understanding. Often work is just ticked and where comments are made, they too often either give general praise, or highlight points about literacy skills. There are some strengths in the teaching. For example, teachers plan together in teams, following the school curriculum plan, and there is general consistency in teaching between classes. In Year 3 and Year 4, there are some better opportunities for using appropriate geographical vocabulary and pursuing enquiry methods, particularly in studies of an Indian village. In Year 2 especially, pupils enjoy the study of Mexico and, overall, pupils’ attitudes and interest levels are good. The subject makes a satisfactory contribution to pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural education and introduces pupils to a range of localities in the world. These strengths provide some building blocks for the future.
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GEOGRAPHY
147. The leadership and management of the subject are unsatisfactory. Many of the significant issues identified in the previous inspection for development remain. Standards at age 11 are still below national expectations and those at age 7 have fallen to this level. The subject curriculum plan, which now alternates annually between the purchased scheme and that offered by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, does not provide coherence. The plan is not linked well with the identified progression of geographical skills and this is not being applied effectively in classes. Class teachers’ evaluations are collated but, as these are not levelled or moderated, they do not provide enough information about how well pupils are attaining. There is no effective way of checking whether standards are high enough beyond receiving samples of work for the subject portfolio, which have not been analysed. Consequently, the pupils’ low
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GEOGRAPHY
achievement has not been identified or followed up. There has been no specific training for staff in geography in recent years, the co-ordinator receives no regular release time and, at the time of the inspection, the subject was not identified as a priority for development in the school.
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HISTORY
148. Standards by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are above average, which is an improvement on the standards seen in the previous inspection. Pupils make good progress. The strength of the subject is the good provision of books, photographs, CD- ROM's and Internet facilities for the development of historical skills. Pupils with special educational needs and those who learn English as an additional language make good progress.
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HISTORY
149. By the end of Year 2, pupils are familiar with the achievements of a number of famous people and events. For example they know details of how Jane Grey and Florence Nightingale helped the wounded soldiers in the Crimean War. The good use of artefacts helps the pupils to understand how people lived in the past by comparative studies, and they compare life on the beach during Victorian times with that in present leisure parks by the seaside. Pupils make sensible observations about how social customs have changed. They are given frequent opportunities to develop chronological skills from a basic knowledge of their personal growth from being a baby to grown up seven-year-old boys and girls.
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HISTORY
150. By the end of Year 6 pupils have studied life at various times in history, comparing and contrasting the main characteristics of the different eras. They have secure knowledge of the main periods in history, for example The Romans, The Tudors, Ancient Greek St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 49 and Anglo-Saxons. They talk with interest and good knowledge of the lives of ordinary people of the times. Their historical enquiry skills are developed well. Pupils acquire skills as an archaeologist finding information through artefacts of the times. They also have good understanding of Victorian Britain and discuss fashion and music of the nineteenth century with confidence. The investigation of John Lennon’s life style and his music also adds to pupils’ social and personal development. Drama groups are invited to act out the historical events that bring the subject to life. These experiences help to
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HISTORY
maintain pupils’ keen interest in the subject.
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HISTORY
151. Pupils’ attitude to the subject is good. They work hard and are keen historical investigators for example they interviewed their grand parents for their childhood ventures on the beaches. They take pride in their work and show desire to do well. Pupils work well together. Behaviour in lessons is often good considering the open plan structures of classrooms.
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HISTORY
152. The quality of teaching is good both at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and there are examples of very good teaching where teachers have good oral questioning skills and employ a variety of inventive strategies involving pupils directly in their learning. The areas for improvement are to ensure that work is matched to the individual needs of pupils where teaching is less effective. The school plans to provide more opportunities for the dramatisation of historical experiences that increase the pupils’ understanding about what it must have been like to live in past times.
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HISTORY
153. Pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are well reinforced through the teaching of history. The co-ordinator has developed an appropriate scheme of planning based on national guidelines. However, development of the history curriculum has not been a priority during the implementation of national strategies of English and Mathematics. A reviewed policy is in place since the last inspection. Study units are sufficiently supported by existing resources including information and communication technology facilities. Whilst the leadership and management of the subject are good in terms of raising the profile of the subject and in managing the use of resources there is little that supports pupils’ progress through assessment. The co-ordinator has no timetable for monitoring, teaching and learning to further raise standards and this has not helped to raise standards further.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
154. Pupils, throughout the school, make satisfactory progress and standards by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are in line with those expected. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress, as do the small number of pupils who speak English as an additional language. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Standards are the same as those found at the time of the last inspection and improvement since that time is satisfactory. Teachers ensure that as they progress from year to year pupils acquire satisfactory skills and understanding of using computers to find things out, to develop their ideas and make things happen. Pupils learn to share information and to evaluate the use of information and communication technology and their own work.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
155. By the end of Year 2 pupils enter data onto simple bar charts and graphs and use word banks to ensure their writing is spelled correctly when they word process. Pupils also use paint and draw programs well, for example in Year 1, when they make Easter cards for their parents and friends. Teaching enables pupils to build satisfactorily on their previous learning. Pupils ask simple questions about the data they have entered into graphs and charts and make sensible deductions about what the data is telling St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 50 them. They also gain good experience in simple programming techniques when they record instructions to guide a programmable toy on its journey. In discussions pupils are able to explain clearly the processes they have followed during these activities.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
156. Pupils in Year 3 to Year 6 continue to make good use of computers to present their work neatly. For example, pupils in these year groups write stories and poetry, using the computers satisfactorily to edit their work. They are able to change the font and size of writing correctly. Pupils in Year 6 have developed the skills of adding graphics to the texts they produce to a standard that matches that expected for their age. They also use the ‘Logo’ program correctly to instruct the computer to draw regular and irregular two-dimensional shapes. Pupils become increasingly competent and confident at explaining about their work, at solving problems for themselves and at recognising and evaluating the shortcomings of the computer programs they are using. During the inspection pupils in Year 6, as a result of good teaching, made good progress when they learned how to apply formula to making calculations whilst using spreadsheets.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
They are also aware of the pitfalls involved in such processes.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
157. Many pupils have access to computers at home. Older pupils use these computers and the ones at school increasingly well for research purposes. For example, in geography they used the Internet to prepare for their visit to the power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar and to find out about different faiths in religious education. However, these pupils have done very little work on multi-media presentations. The school hopes to address this shortfall when the new computer suite is ready for use.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
158. In some lessons opportunities to use computers to enhance pupils’ learning are missed, either because the computers are not switched on or because pupils are not using them. Some teachers do not record which pupils have worked on computers. This restricts the ability of the teachers to track the work that pupils have covered. During the inspection a Year 2 teacher enabled pupils to show good understanding of how to use a computer to edit text. However, pupils were unable to apply their knowledge at the time because only two computers were available. This shortfall in resources sometimes leads to gaps in pupils’ learning.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
159. The quality and range of learning opportunities is satisfactory and all statutory requirements for teaching the subject are met in full. In most subjects satisfactory use is made of information and communication technology to enhance pupils’ learning, with good use in design and technology, English and history. The subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, pupils use painting and drawing programs to enhance their work in art and design and to illustrate poems they have written. Where teaching is good, as in Year 6, it inspires pupils to extend their work on their home computers. Pupils share this work with great enthusiasm and show considerable understanding as they explain how they have developed their work. Many pupils in Year 6 attended a residential course that includes adventure activities and information and communication technology. This intense
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
experience makes a positive contribution to the development of pupils’ knowledge and skills.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
160. Leadership and management of the subject are good because the subject co-ordinator has a high level of skill and enthusiasm and has worked hard with colleagues to move their individual and collective levels of confidence and skill forward. As a member of the senior management team the co-ordinator has been successful in raising the profile well across the school. The subject leader has worked effectively, often in difficult circumstances, to ensure that standards are maintained at their present level and has led plans for future improvements. Additional funding for the development of information St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 51 and communication technology has been used satisfactorily. The subject leader has a good understanding of the exact strengths and areas for development. Effective procedures for monitoring standards and the quality of teaching and learning ensure the
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
subject leader has an accurate view of how well pupils are doing and of what needs to be done to develop the subject further. Accommodation and resources for learning are currently unsatisfactory. Governors, the headteacher and the subject leader are working effectively to improve accommodation and resources and plans to provide a computer suite are well advanced. The school operates a helpful and informative website, providing news and information about its activities. This is used regularly by many members of the community.
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MUSIC
161. Standards in music are in line with those expected nationally at both key stages. This is an improved picture since the previous inspection, when standards at Key Stage 2 were judged to be unsatisfactory. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and those pupils with English as an additional language make satisfactory progress throughout the school. No gifted and talented pupils were identified at the time of the inspection. A significant minority of pupils make further progress through a range of extra-curricular provision, which enables them to develop their instrumental and performance skills well. The subject co-ordinator has clearly identified the areas for further development, including the need for a greater emphasis on music from other cultures. 162. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils sing tunefully and with enthusiasm, understanding the pattern of verse and chorus with an average level of skill. They are introduced to
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MUSIC
musical terminology such as crescendo and diminuendo. Pupils in Year 1 satisfactorily combine pulse and rhythm and create a “rhythm dinner” by clapping out words with different numbers of syllables, such as “spaghetti bolognaise” and “chocolate cake”. Pupils in Year 2 practise and perform a class composition to an average standard. They select instruments and in groups compose a sound picture of the weather. They explore the way instruments are used to create different effects. They experiment with ways to create, for example, the sun, thunder and rain. They perform a musical picture, using triangles, maracas and drums to achieve the desired effect and evaluate their work satisfactorily with the whole class in order to improve their performance. For example, pupils suggest that they “could play more slowly”, “the thunder sound came in too early” or “listen to others”.
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MUSIC
163. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils sing satisfactorily in three parts. Diction is clear and they follow the conductor’s signals well. They learn about crotchets, minims and semi- breves and the differing lengths of the notes. They explore a wide variety of music and the work of different composers and how and why instruments have been used to create effects. For example they study the Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens and the way the composer uses different instruments and styles to conjure up the pictures of the various animals. They listen to jazz and explore Dave Brubeck’s Unsquare Dance and compare and contrast different styles of music with an average level of skill. They try to imagine the journey of a river after listening to Smetana’s Vltava and compose their own music to suit the different landmarks the river passes on its journey to the sea. In a Year 6 class, pupils learn to layer sounds using symbols as sounds.
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MUSIC
They keep a rhythm going in three parts and understand how layering can add interest to a piece of music. They change the dynamics and tempo and understand and use such musical terms as “crescendo” and “diminuendo” with an average level of skill. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 52 164. The provision for extra-curricular music making is good. The school provides opportunities for pupils to learn to play the recorder and to join the school band. A range of instrumental tuition is available from peripatetic teachers for those pupils, who are prepared to pay. Individual pupils learn to play, for example, instruments such as cornet, violin and guitar. Twelve pupils were observed playing in the school band. They were enthusiastic, knowledgeable and confident and played together well under the leadership of the music co-ordinator. They understood how to alter the dynamics of a piece of music, using terms such as “forte” “piano” and “pianissimo” and the teacher
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MUSIC
skilfully demonstrates how dynamics can be used to create dramatic effects in music. Pupils persevered well in their attempts to produce a shared musical experience in the school band.
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MUSIC
165. Pupils listen to a wide range of composers and music in assembly and during the week of the inspection pupils listened to African music, after which they were asked to think about the imagery it invoked. However, pupils are not given enough opportunity to explore their own responses to the music and the teacher told the pupils what it reminded her of, instead of asking them what they thought the music’s imagery was trying to convey. The school produces concerts and performances at times throughout the year and pupils examine what it feels like to perform in public. They describe, “plucking up our courage as well as our guitars”. Pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 were observed practising on the piano, drums, xylophone and guitar during the lunch-hour to perfect their performances. Visitors, such as members of the East of England Orchestra, are invited into school to work with the pupils and perform on a variety of
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MUSIC
orchestral instruments. The school has recently formed links with a multi-ethnic school in Leicester in order to improve the provision for music from other cultures and liases with the Leicestershire Arts in Education to improve opportunities for pupils to take part in different musical experiences.
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MUSIC
166. Teaching and learning throughout the school is satisfactory with some very good teaching of the school band. Pupils make satisfactory progress and achieve satisfactorily. Teachers plan their work well and for the most part provide interesting and challenging tasks. In most lessons pupils are usually well behaved and focused. They co-operate well in groups when they are practising and performing. Teachers involve all pupils and there are good levels of praise and encouragement to ensure pupils give of their best. Pupils show pleasure and enjoyment in their lessons and in the extra-curricular opportunities provided. Teachers help them to evaluate their own performances and that of others by skilful questioning and pupils offer pertinent and knowledgeable suggestions for improvement. However, as seen in Year 6 the management of pupils with behavioural difficulties is weak, behaviour deteriorates and
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MUSIC
167. Leadership and management of the subject are good. The specialist music co- ordinator has given music a high profile within the school since the previous inspection. She has excellent expertise and understands well the strengths and weaknesses of the subject. She is actively engaged in promoting music in the school, through support for teachers in their planning and delivery of the subject and the provision of worthwhile musical opportunities. A scheme of work is carefully implemented to ensure that skills are progressively developed. Assessment is carried out at the end of units of work by a satisfactory and manageable system, which indicates the percentage of pupils achieving the required levels of knowledge, skills and understanding in music but there are currently no records of the achievements of individual pupils.
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MUSIC
168. The co-ordinator monitors the teaching and learning by examining and discussing teachers’ planning. However, there is currently no time allocated for the co-ordinator to St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 53 monitor standards or teaching and learning through lesson observations and this makes it difficult for the co-ordinator to identify where improvements are needed. The school has a music studio, which is used for lessons and practice, but it is also used as a library and a video room. This means that an otherwise valuable resource is not always available for the teaching of music. Learning resources for the subject are accessible and adequate to teach the planned curriculum. The school has increased the number and range of instruments from other cultures since the previous inspection.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
169. Pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 make good progress and achieve well, consequently by the end of Year 2 standards exceed those expected for pupils of this age. In Year 3 to Year 6 pupils achieve satisfactorily, attaining standards, by the end of Year 6 that are in line with those expected. Pupils with special needs make good progress in Year 1 and Year 2 and satisfactory progress in Year 3 to Year 6. The quality of teaching in Year 1 and Year 2 is good. The teaching in Year 3 to Year 6 is satisfactory. At the time of the last inspection, standards at the end of both key stages exceeded those expected. Improvement since that time is unsatisfactory.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
170. Pupils in Year 2 make very good progress in athletics because they are taught very well. These pupils organise their own warm-up activities correctly and attain standards that exceed those expected for their age in running, jumping and throwing. They also analyse very thoughtfully and comment, in response to questions from their teacher, about what they are doing well and what they need to do to improve. Good progress, because pupils are taught well, is also evident in athletics in Year 6 where pupils attain standards that are close to those expected for their age. These pupils are also provided with good opportunities to evaluate the quality of their performances.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
171. In games in Year 3 to Year 6 some higher attaining pupils in each year attain high standards. This was clearly evident in the rounders tournament that took place in which pupils bowled accurately, struck the ball well and fielded by catching and throwing very competently. However, standards overall are not as high in games as they are in athletics. In some lessons pupils’ progress is unsatisfactory. This is because the activities they are required to do are not matched sufficiently well to their abilities and there is not enough challenge. Consequently some pupils lose interest. When this happens they do not try as hard as they should.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
172. The curriculum meets statutory requirements and there is a good programme of extra- curricular activities. This programme includes association football, athletics, cross- country running, netball and rounders. These activities are attended well and the school has achieved considerable success in local and regional competitions. Gifted and talented pupils do well in athletics and cross-country running and several boys have represented their county at cricket for their age group. These pupils are supported well by the school. Most pupils attain the expected standard in swimming by the time they are ready to leave the school. For a short period, due to access difficulties at the pool, the school has been unable to provide swimming. However, plans are in hand to rectify this situation and the school will again provide swimming from September 2003.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
173. The subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is particularly so as pupils learn to play games fairly and to co- operate and support each other well. Satisfactory use is made of new technology to support pupils’ learning. For example, digital cameras are used to record pupils’ work and pupils use stop watches accurately to record their times in running events. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 54 174. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. The subject leader is enthusiastic. She provides good support for her colleagues and works effectively to involve parents and other members of the community in activities. However, there have been no opportunities for the subject leader to monitor the quality of teaching and learning and this feature of management is unsatisfactory. The accommodation for the subject and the resources to support pupils’ learning are satisfactory.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
175. By the age of seven, standards of attainment are broadly in line with the expectations in the Leicestershire Locally Agreed Syllabus. However, by the age of eleven, pupils’ attainment is below the expectations of the syllabus. Key Stage 1 pupils make satisfactory progress in the subject, whereas the progress of Key Stage 2 pupils is unsatisfactory overall. Pupils in the Year 3 / Year 4 group generally make faster progress than those in Year 3, Year 4 Year 5 and Year 6. Pupils with English as an additional language achieve as well as their peers. Key Stage 1 children with special educational needs make satisfactory progress but in Key Stage 2 the pupils make unsatisfactory progress overall. The previous inspection for the subject was carried out, exceptionally, under Section 23 of the School Inspections Act, not as part of the main Section 10 inspection. Improvement since then has been unsatisfactory, as the
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
standards are now lower for pupils leaving school at age 11.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
176. By the age of seven, pupils are able to name the major religions of the world. They explain some of the festivals, such as Diwali, and key aspects of the religions. They have satisfactory knowledge of Christianity and the work of the Church and see why this is significant to people. Pupils are aware of special religious buildings and their importance. They have some opportunities to learn about different religions and religious practices and consider the relevance of this to their daily lives. For example, they do some interesting and worthwhile work about taking responsibility for the environment, rules for life and friends. They learn about the local church, using a simple website as well as making a visit there. Pupils speak enthusiastically about a visit to the school by a Hindu lady, from whom they learned a great deal.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
177. By the age of eleven, pupils have a reasonable understanding of facts about different religions. They explain some differences between Christian denominations and the way Churches are laid out. With prompting, they relate information about a number of different faiths and places of worship, including mosques. However, their understanding of the importance and relevance of these facts to people’s lives is much weaker and they find this hard to explain or discuss. This is an important facet of the Locally Agreed Syllabus, which is not being met by the pupils.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
178. The quality of teaching in Key Stage 1 is satisfactory. The two-year cycle of topics in the scheme of work is, for the most part, effective in promoting the development of concepts over time. However, the inspection evidence also indicates that there is room for improvement in the Key Stage 1 teaching. Work is not always matched specifically to different needs, which means that some pupils in Year 2 are not challenged sufficiently. Pupils identify that they are taught things they ‘already know’ in some lessons. Meanwhile, lower attaining pupils in Year 1 are often unable to complete the work set as they are given insufficient support. Inspection evidence shows that the teaching is sometimes too highly controlled by staff, so that pupils cannot find out enough for themselves, and that some lessons are not presented in as interesting a way as they could be. St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School- 55
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
179. The overall quality of teaching in the Key Stage 2 classes is unsatisfactory. Too much of the teaching is based on learning factual knowledge about religions without emphasis on the significance of these facts to people, or the importance of religious belief, which would bring the learning much more to life. The teaching is not always interesting enough and motivating to the pupils. There are too many examples of pupils having to copy work from the board and carrying out undemanding activities from textbooks or worksheets. Pupils have insufficient opportunities to think for themselves in lessons. They would like to carry out more research and creative activities and are clear that this would be more challenging and interesting.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
180. The work pupils do is usually not sufficiently different to meet the needs of groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs, and is generally pitched at too low a level for most pupils. Generally, work is best matched to Year 3 / Year 4 pupils. The marking of work by teachers does not usually show pupils how they could improve their work and learning. There are, however, some strengths in the Key Stage 2 teaching. For example, there is a good balance between religions studied, but with an appropriate emphasis on Christianity. Some lessons are interesting and memorable to the pupils, who have good attitudes to the subject. The use of information and communication technology in the subject is satisfactory in both key stages, contributing to pupils’ learning effectively.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
181. The leadership and management of the subject are unsatisfactory. The co-ordinator has not been able to monitor standards in the subject and believes they are higher than they are. This has occurred because too much reliance has been placed on assessments and evaluations from class teachers, which are not moderated, and lack of rigour in ensuring that the hard work of members of staff is effective in promoting good progress and standards. Inspection evidence shows, however, that there is a need for greater guidance and support. By improving its relevance to the pupils, the subject could also make a better contribution to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
182. Co-ordinator time is used mainly for scrutinising teachers’ plans and managing resources. Whilst there is a detailed subject action plan and many of the organisational tasks on it have been carried out, these have had limited direct impact on raising standards. The co-ordinator has effectively promoted the ‘St. Bartholomew’s Family’, which is a good way of introducing major world religions to the pupils and has led some staff discussions about the subject with a view to developing the curriculum. She is aware that the organisation of the Key Stage 2 scheme of work is not ideal and has plans to address this after the expected publication of a new Locally Agreed Syllabus. The main weakness is that the co-ordinator has little involvement in supporting the work across the school and this has allowed weaknesses in teaching and progress to go unchecked. The co-ordinator’s opportunities to monitor standards are very limited.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
There is little opportunity to directly evaluate and promote the development of teaching and learning. Resources remain unsatisfactory.
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