Colville Primary School

COLVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 17 – 19 November 2003

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COLVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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COLVILLE 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. Colville Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 3 – 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 221

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Colville Road Cherry Hinton Cambridge Postcode: CB1 9EJ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 01223 576246 Fax number: 01223 516698

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Email: office@colville.cambs-schools.net

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Gerry O’Keefe

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 6 March 1999

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Colville is a primary school of average size with 221 girls and boys on roll between the ages of three and 11. It serves a community with greater than average social and economic deprivation and the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. There is a higher than average number of pupils with special educational needs and several of these have significant emotional and behavioural difficulties. The proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language is high and increasing; the commonest languages are Korean and Tagalog. A slightly higher than average number of pupils join or leave the school other than at reception or Year 6. Attainment on joining the school tends to be below average. The current headteacher has been in post for two years, following a period of rapid changes in headteachers. Colville Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

12487 John Lilly Lead inspector The Foundation Stage Religious education English as an additional language Personal, social and health education (PSHE) Community provision 11041 Marvyn Moore Lay inspector 32580 Judith Pemberton Team inspector English Geography History Physical education 27698 Gordon Philips Team inspector Mathematics Science Information and communication technology (ICT) Art and design Design and technology Music Special educational needs

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

6 East Point High Street Seal Sevenoaks Kent TN15 0EG

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). Colville Primary School - 5

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 11-16

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

Teaching and learning The curriculum Care, guidance and support Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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SUBJECTS IN KEY STAGES 1 AND 2

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS 32 Colville Primary School - 6

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Colville is a good school and all children find their learning interesting and satisfying. This is because they are very well cared for and well taught and, consequently, they develop as happy, well- behaved and mature young people. The headteacher provides a fine example for staff and children. Her strong leadership together with others’ is raising standards, and effective management supports further improvement. Improvement was initially slow but it is becoming much more rapid. Children make an excellent start because provision in the nursery and reception classes is very good and pupils now make good progress between Years 1 and 6. Even though standards were low in national tests and assessments in 2003, pupils now attain broadly average standards. Improvement overall since the last inspection has been good and the school offers sound value for money.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

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OVERALL EVALUATION

• Very strong leadership by the headteacher. • Effective and efficient management. • Good teaching and learning. • Very good provision at the Foundation Stage. • Very high standards of care. • Very strong partnership with parents. • Improvement planning does not give enough focus to raising attainment. • Budgeting does not guarantee that there are secure and sufficient funds to support future improvement. • Assessment is not used enough to show pupils how to improve. • Strategies for helping pupils to manage their own behaviour require improvement and, consequently, teaching is sometimes overly restricted by the need to control the behaviour of pupils with challenging behaviour. • Pupils receive too little guidance on how to use their good speaking skills to improve their thinking. • Pupils learning English as an additional language do not have enough specialised support.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Following the last inspection, changes in leadership led to a serious decline in standards of behaviour and learning. The current headteacher has turned the school around and created a team eager and able to improve further. Governors and staff recognise, however, that there is still much to do.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2001 2002 2003 2003 English E E E C mathematics E* E E E Science E* E E E Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average E* - extremely low Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Attainment is improving at an increasing rate. Progress at the Foundation Stage is very good. Pupils in Years 1 to 6 now attain standards that meet national expectations for English, mathematics and science. In all other subjects, attainment is broadly average except for physical education where it is above average. Most pupils make good progress and achieve well , matching and Colville Primary School - 7 supported by their good personal development. Relationships are good and pupils are keen and eager to learn. Although most children attend school well, poor attendance by a small minority hinders these pupils’ learning. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good .

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The school provides a sound quality of education and provision is rapidly improving. The curriculum is broad, balanced and relevant and teaching is good . Provision for care and personal development is very good. Provision at the Foundation Stage is very good.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The leadership and management of the school are good . Governance is satisfactory. The headteacher’s very strong leadership is driving improvement. She is ably supported by the deputy headteacher and other staff in their leadership and management roles. Management overall is efficient and effective. Governors work efficiently and are very supportive of the school. They do not yet, however, have a completely secure understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, and the risks and opportunities the future may pose, for example ensuring finance can meet the needs of the future.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Most parents value the school highly and work hard to support its success. Pupils are very proud of their school, value staff highly and, overall, consider it ‘great’.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are:

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Focus improvement planning on areas that will bring greatest benefit. • Guarantee that financial management provides the school with secure and sufficient funds to support future improvement. • Increase staff skills and knowledge in helping pupils with challenging behaviour gain the personal skills to manage their own behaviour. • Use assessment information more effectively to show pupils how they can improve their work. • Find better ways to help pupils to increase their skills in using talk to think more clearly and to check they completely understand what they hear. • Improve provision for pupils learning English as an additional language. • Develop ways to make teaching not just good but also inspiring and exciting. Colville Primary School - 8

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Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

Attainment matches national expectations. Most pupils make good progress and achievement is high.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• There has been considerable, recent improvement in attainment, progress and achievement throughout the school. • Some pupils in the initial stages of learning English as an additional language English make too slow progress. • Progress and achievement at the Foundation Stage are very good.

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Commentary

Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2003

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results Reading 14.9 (12.3) 15.7 (15.8)

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Commentary

There were 27 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

1. Standards declined considerably following the last inspection because there were many changes in the leadership of the school. There was much that needed improvement when the current headteacher took up post two years ago. One of the most damaging aspects of previous weaknesses was that pupils at each age did not have secure knowledge and understanding of things they should have learned earlier. Even though provision has improved significantly, these gaps in the pupils’ learning hindered quick improvement in attainment. The benefits of much improved leadership and management, however, are now clear.

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Commentary

2. Children join the nursery with below average attainment and make very good progress. However, the highest attainers mainly transfer to a reception class in another school, and so therefore those joining the Colville reception class again have below average attainment. They make very good progress and most reach or exceed the early learning goals set for the end of the reception year. Pupils make good progress between Years 1 and 6, and the achievement of most is high.

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Commentary

3. Results in national tests and assessments at the end of Year 2 in 2003 showed significant improvement. They matched the national average in writing but were below average in reading. They were low in mathematics and science, but even this was an improvement on the previous year. Comparison with the averages for similar schools shows similar improvement. Colville Primary School - 9 Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003 Standards in: School results National results English 24.9 (25.3) 26.8 (27) Mathematics 23.9 (25) 26.8 (26.7) Science 26 (26) 28.6 (28.3) There were 35 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

4. Results in tests at the end of Year 6 in 2003 were low in English, mathematics and science. The rate of improvement was not as great as at Key Stage 1, but there was improvement in the proportion of pupils gaining the higher level 5. This does not show clearly in the above table. Taking into account the high number of pupils learning English as an additional language and the number of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties, these results are only just below the average for similar schools. The school found these results disappointing but realised teachers had needed to address gaps in the pupils’ learning. This inspection finds that current pupils have secure and complete learning, and this explains why present attainment is much higher. Reviews by the local education authority support this finding.

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Commentary

5. The inspection shows, therefore, that improvement in attainment, progress and achievement is becoming more rapid, in line with the improvement in provision, especially teaching. Another important factor is the improvement in pupils’ attitudes and behaviour. Attainment at the end of Years 2 and 6 now matches national expectations in English, mathematics and science, and is average in all subjects except for physical education where it is above average.

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Commentary

6. Girls and boys usually do equally well. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress because they are well supported. Pupils learning English as an additional language make very good progress once they have secure language skills in English. The speed at which they gain enough English to make good progress, however, is in some cases too slow because they do not receive enough specialised support. Very able pupils have good opportunities to reach their potential.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes are good and behaviour is satisfactory. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development makes them keen and aware learners. • Pupils willingly take on responsibilities both in and out of school. • Pupils relate well with others, especially those of different cultures. • Almost all pupils attend school eagerly and well. A small minority, however, have poor attendance and this holds back their learning.

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Commentary

7. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes have improved significantly over the last two years. Pupils are very proud of their school and value highly the opportunities it offers. Consequently, they enjoy coming to school and display positive attitudes both in and out of lessons. A small minority of pupils present very challenging behaviour. Staff control their challenging behaviour well and, usually, these pupils are not allowed to disrupt others’ learning. The majority of pupils, especially in Years 5 and 6, willingly take on responsibilities. For example: they act as house Colville Primary School - 10 captains and monitors and arrange ‘golden time’ activities. Pupils are confident, have high self- esteem and relate well with everyone, including adults.

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Commentary

8. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and the way they relate and communicate with others. Consequently, pupils develop their conversational listening and speaking skills well. Pupils respect each other’s feelings and beliefs, and form constructive friendships. Relationships between ethnic groups and pupils from different backgrounds are very good. Bullying is rare and when it occurs it is dealt with very firmly. There have been nine temporary exclusions during the previous year but all these happened for good reason and were meticulously recorded.

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Commentary

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Commentary

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 148 6 0 White – Irish 0 0 0 White – any other White background 4 3 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 6 0 0 Mixed – White and Black African 0 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 0 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 4 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Indian 0 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 2 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 11 0 0 Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0 Black or Black British – African 6 0 0 Any other ethnic group 9 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Commentary

9. An important reason for the pupils’ good development is the good provision for personal, social and health education (PSHE); in these lessons pupils learn to respect the views and opinions of others. In a good PSHE lesson observed during the inspection week, Year 6 pupils behaved in a sensible, mature and perceptive way to identify and think through situations in which they would be at risk.

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Commentary

10. Most pupils know and understand why behaviour is right or wrong; they are socially and morally aware. They play together well and lunchtimes are pleasant social occasions. In the playground, the overwhelming majority of pupils display good and sensible behaviour. They follow and regard as their own the codes of behaviour that are drawn up and displayed throughout the school. They consider rewards and sanctions as fair and sensible, recognising their purpose. A growing spiritual awareness brings a sense of wonder to their learning and good cultural awareness creates a natural curiosity and respect for lives other than their own. The very good relationships that pupils have with each other have a positive effect on the progress they make during their life at school, and their wider awareness prepares them well for life in diverse, multi-cultural society. . Colville Primary School - 11 Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 6.2 School data 0.2 National data 5.4 National data 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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Commentary

11. Attendance is satisfactory overall and is improving. The school’s action to promote good attendance is satisfactory and it will shortly introduce procedures to monitor attendance on the first day of absence. This is necessary because a small number of pupils have poor attendance despite the best efforts of the school.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The school provides a sound quality of education. The quality overall has improved significantly over the last two years and there is good planning for further improvement.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are good and very good at the Foundation Stage. Assessment of what pupils can do is much improved and is sound, but this information is not used sufficiently to show pupils how to improve. Teaching has improved significantly over the last two years. It is very good in nursery and reception classes, and usually at least good in Years 1 to 6. A strength is the consistent quality across subjects and classes. The majority of the very good and excellent teaching is in the nursery and reception classes.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers control classes very well, with high expectations of good behaviour. • Teachers plan lessons well. • Lessons have clear objectives. • Most pupils are keen and eager to learn, and enjoy their work. • Teachers do too little to help pupils to think for themselves and take responsibility for their own learning, for example by using assessment information to show them how to improve. • The needs of pupils learning English as an additional language are not met in full.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 35 lessons or parts of lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

1 (3%) 8 (23%) 18 (51%) 7 (20%) 1 (3%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

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Commentary

The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen.

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Commentary

12. All teachers plan very well and their subject knowledge and expertise are good. They maintain good classroom control, even when the behaviour of some pupils is extremely challenging. They monitor the pupils’ learning and act quickly when learning slows or is not good enough. They give each lesson a clear objective and make certain pupils understand what is to be achieved. They are particularly good at using every subject to develop pupils’ speaking, listening and writing. Most use homework very well to extend and consolidate learning, Colville Primary School - 12 although there is some inconsistency between classes. They plan so that tasks meet the learning needs of each level of ability. Most teachers, however, do not have sufficient understanding of the barriers to learning, or how to overcome them, faced by pupils learning English as an additional language. Lessons are purposeful and create an effective ethos for

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Commentary

work and learning; pupils see point in their learning because they have targets to meet.

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Commentary

13. A strength of the teaching is the way teachers work closely together with teaching assistants. This is strongest in the nursery and reception classes where assistants share in the teaching, write detailed assessment notes during full-class sessions and are full and equal members of the teaching team. When the class is together, they tend to sit towards the front where they can maintain eye contact with the children. In higher years, teaching assistants sometimes take small groups outside the class; they teach very effectively and progress improves because the pupils’ needs are met more precisely.

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Commentary

14. Pupils with special educational needs are well taught and effectively helped to overcome their barriers to learning. Pupils who are learning English as an additional language appear to make equivalent progress to their English speaking peers. However, especially at the early stages of English acquisition, they do not have sufficient expert support in gaining the language they need at school.

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Commentary

15. Except in nursery and reception classes, the proportion of very good and excellent teaching was low. Teachers often said that their teaching tended to be safe and avoided taking risks, because they were concerned that pupils with challenging behaviour might take advantage. This led some of the teaching to tend to become overly prescribed and lacking in excitement; the pace of learning slowed. A highly expert and skilled teacher, who has the highest proportion of these pupils in her class, refused to allow this to happen in her lessons. Maintaining strict control, the teaching and learning were full of challenge and excitement because she employed a wide range of learning activities; even the most challenging pupils took a full part.

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Commentary

16. Although teachers help pupils to speak confidently and listen intently, only the most effective teachers went on to help pupils use this confident communication to think collaboratively and problem solve together. In very effective lessons, teachers successfully used a technique that allows pupils to talk through and think about problems in pairs, and then report back to the class. Marking is conscientious and teachers record accurate assessments of attainment, tracking and evaluating the progress of each pupil. However, an area for improvement is the further use of this assessment data to make crystal clear to pupils where and why they succeed, where and why they meet problems and what they need to learn next so as to improve. Because this is not yet completely the case, pupils simply tend to complete tasks rather than play their individual parts in their learning.

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Commentary

17. A strength of the school is the way it uses partnerships to bring effective and specialist teachers into school, especially through links with the specialist sports college.

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The curriculum

The curriculum is satisfactory and much improved. The broad and appropriate curriculum caters for all pupils’ needs and interests. Opportunities for the enrichment of the curriculum are good. There are adequate qualified staff to meet the requirements of the curriculum, and resources for learning are satisfactory. Accommodation is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good planning ensures that the curriculum is broad, balanced and relevant and that it meets the needs and interests of pupils at each age. • The Foundation Stage curriculum is very good. • All aspects of English are well supported within the various subjects of the curriculum. Colville Primary School - 13 • There is a strong emphasis on physical and health education. • Links with community partners enrich and extend the curriculum. • The curriculum does not sufficiently recognize and celebrate the many cultures in the school.

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Commentary

18. Very good provision in the nursery and reception classes gives children an excellent start. The curriculum in Years 1 – 6 offers a broad range of learning opportunities and meets the statutory requirements for the National Curriculum subjects and religious education. The teaching of English, particularly speaking, listening and writing, permeates all subject areas and this is a strength.

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Commentary

19. Schemes of work are in place for all subjects, ensuring that each pupil learns the right things at the right times, each step building on what went before. This is a very significant improvement over the last two years. Subject leaders are monitoring learning, collecting work samples to show what pupils should achieve and observing teaching. This is increasing the rate of improvement.

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Commentary

20. Literacy and numeracy are carefully planned and well taught. The increased focus on speaking and listening across the curriculum is providing all pupils with practical learning opportunities. This good practice requires further development, for example, to increase consistency and to help improved speaking and listening to support better thinking. This will enable all pupils to think more clearly and gain more meaning from what they hear.

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Commentary

21. Pupils with special educational needs are fully integrated within each class. They are well and appropriately supported by effective teaching assistants. When it is necessary to withdraw small groups of pupils, for example, for guided reading, this is managed carefully and they are well taught. This increases these pupils’ ability to access the curriculum. Pupils who are learning English as an additional language are made very welcome and feel valued. Even so, they take time to access the learning because they receive too little help with learning English, despite the help of a specialist teacher for a short time each week. They say that it would help them learn better if they felt their cultures were better celebrated alongside English culture; inspectors agree.

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Commentary

22. There is a strong emphasis on physical education and healthy lifestyles. The school is currently working towards the ‘Healthy Schools’ Award’ and the improvements this process highlights is improving not only the range but the pace of learning. Displays around the school indicate the increased emphasis on the humanities, particularly history and geography. However, the arts are not as well represented and this could be an area for improvement. The use of information and communication technology to extend and support the curriculum is satisfactory and much improved.

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Commentary

23. Pupils benefit from the good range of visits, and visitors are invited into the school on a regular basis. Older pupils have the opportunity to go on a residential visit. An appropriate range of clubs takes place at lunchtime and after school. These extend the pupils’ awareness of the world and raise and widen their aspirations.

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Commentary

24. Provision for personal development is good and much improved. There is a well-planned personal, social, health and citizenship education programme of study and this lies at the heart of the curriculum. It is not stand-alone but linked positively to circle-time (a time when pupils can discuss concerns), the wider promotion of social, moral and cultural values, and more reflective experience in assemblies and religious education. The school council introduces pupils to the responsibilities of being a citizen. Planning and teaching shows that teachers take every opportunity to build the pupils’ spiritual, moral and social awareness. Pupils take on responsibilities within the school and are encouraged to use their initiative to develop rules and improve the school environment. Pupils value these aspects of the curriculum. Even so, the curriculum does not help them enough to plan for their own learning and progress.

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Commentary

Colville Primary School - 14 25. The school is housed in an attractive and spacious building. It is cleaned and maintained to a good standard and pride is taken in its appearance. Spare classrooms have been utilised for an ICT suite, a library and to make it possible for a local playgroup to meet daily. Many of the pupils from the playgroup eventually transfer to the school’s nursery.

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Commentary

26. There is a good team of experienced and qualified teachers. The high number of teaching assistants ensures that pupils with additional needs are given good support, although within this there is too little specialised support for pupils learning English as a new language.

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Commentary

27. The school’s resources are adequate to deliver the curriculum but many are in need of review and replacement, notably library books. There are insufficient resources for pupils from ethnic minorities and those with English as an additional language.

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Care, guidance and support

The school’s arrangements for the care, welfare, health and safety of pupils are very good. It offers good support, advice and guidance to its pupils and values their views.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff support pupils well. • There is very good provision for all pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety. • Pupils have very good access to well-informed advice and guidance. • Pupils with challenging behaviour are well controlled but do not receive the higher-level guidance that would help them learn how to manage their own behaviour. • The teaching time and expertise available to support pupils learning English as an additional language are insufficient. • Induction arrangements for pupils joining the school later than the reception class are insufficiently focused.

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Commentary

28. There is very good care for the welfare and safety of pupils; they feel safe and secure in a happy environment. The child protection officer is well and relevantly trained and passes on this knowledge to all staff. The school works to the policy of the area child protection committee, which is precise, concise and clear. Consequently, the school records meticulously the progress of pupils on the ‘at risk’ and ‘looked after’ register. An independent safety contractor regularly checks health and safety and the caretaker frequently checks the playground and equipment. The fire alarm is tested regularly and the school has an adequate number of suitably qualified first-aiders. Good records of accidents ensure that any risks are quickly identified and rectified.

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Commentary

29. All pupils have a very good and trusting relationship with adults. They relate well with staff because adults know them well and understand their needs. Staff monitor pupils’ progress and development both formally and informally and take quick action to put matters right when problems arise.

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Commentary

30. The school supports pupils with special educational needs well. They have sensible individual education plans that are regularly reviewed, often with parents. Relationships with outside agencies are very good. Pupils learning English as an additional language are made to feel equally valued and cared for, but there is insufficient specialised help to support the large and increasing number of these pupils and, overall, the school does not have sufficient access to the specialised skills, knowledge and expertise these pupils need. Colville Primary School - 15 31. Induction arrangements for young children are good. The nursery nurse visits all children at pre-school groups and an information pack and meetings provide useful information on how to prepare for school life. Parents are invited to stay with their children during their first few days of school life and, consequently, children settle very quickly into school routines. Pupils who

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Commentary

arrive later in the school are made very welcome but their needs are not identified quickly enough, for example, their needs when learning English. Consequently, they take too long to access the learning. Pupils with challenging behaviour are well controlled but do not receive the high level of expert support and guidance they need to manage their own behaviour.

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Commentary

32. Pupils are very involved in the school because staff actively seek and value their views. Two pupils from each year group are elected to the school council where they meet regularly to discuss items of interest. Pupils are appointed as sports and house captains and undertake additional responsibilities in many areas of school life. Pupils feel that staff treat them as responsible young people and value their views.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

Links with parents and the community are very good. Links with other schools and colleges are good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school has established very effective partnerships with parents. • Information for parents about the school and about pupils’ standards and progress is very good. • Links with the community are very good. • The school has very good procedures for dealing with concerns or complaints.

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Commentary

33. Parents value the school highly. The overwhelming majority of responses to the parental questionnaire said: that parents felt well informed and that they were comfortable about approaching the school; that staff expected their children to work hard; that the school is well run and that the school actively seeks and uses the views of parents, for example, to increase access to a health visitor and the nurse. The inspection confirms all these positive views. A significant minority of parents thought that their children were harassed at school and that pupils did not behave well. The inspection finds that although these events do occur they are rare.

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Commentary

34. The school’s links with parents are very good. The staff welcome parents into school at any time and a small number of parents help in several ways; for example, parents hear readers and come into school to speak about their life experiences. Weekly newsletters provide clear, up-to-date information about school activities. Annual Reports on pupils’ progress give a very clear picture of what pupils have learned, and their progress and targets for improvement. In addition, there are two well-attended parent evenings each year, the first to check how well pupils are settling in and one towards the end of the year to discuss progress. These are supported by open and curriculum evenings. Parents of pupils with special educational needs have separate evenings to discuss progress, policy and the Code of Practice. The headteacher maintains a very visible presence in the playground to chat with parents.

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Commentary

35. The school has good arrangements for the transfer of pupils to the next stage of their education. Meetings are held between secondary department heads and Colville to discuss joint curricular arrangements, and teachers in Year 7 come in to meet Colville pupils in Year 6. Links with other schools and colleges are good. The school has close relationships with receiving secondary schools and has a very strong partnership with a specialist sports college. These links extend and enrich the curriculum significantly. Colville Primary School - 16 36. The school has a small but very active parent staff association which arranges a number of successful social events and helps with school productions. They raise considerable funds for school use, including financial support for families who might find the cost of trips prohibitive.

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Commentary

37. Links with the community are very good. The school has strong links with a Cambridge Football Club who provide coaching facilities for both boy and girl pupils. Year 1 and 2 pupils visit local stores, such as Pizza Hut to assist their food technology lessons, and pupils raise funds for local charities such as Barnardos. Senior citizens are invited into school as guests at Christmas and other times for concerts, and Christian ministers visit the school for assemblies. The school is committed to building better links with other faith communities and this is necessary.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are good with several strengths. Governance is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher provides very good leadership. • Subject leaders and managers provide clear leadership and efficient management. • The governors are not yet in a position to provide strong strategic leadership because they have an insecure awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. • The essential leadership of provision for pupils with special needs, including those learning English, is restricted by the manager having to carry class responsibilities. • The school works closely and productively with its partners.

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Commentary

38. Several changes in leadership led to a significant decline in standards following the last inspection. When the current headteacher took up her post two years ago, a local education authority review showed that a great deal of improvement was needed. Since that time, her very strong and dynamic leadership has turned the school around and provision has improved significantly. Standards are rising and showing signs of rising more quickly. The behaviour and attitudes of the pupils and the teaching are now good, and the curriculum is well planned. Management overall is efficient and effective.

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Commentary

39. This improvement was not easy, not only because there was much to do but also because the staff needed to become an effective team. They are now an effective team that works together to improve. Subject leaders are all taking their full responsibility for leading and managing their areas of the school’s work, ably supported by the deputy headteacher. The co-ordinator for special educational needs brings considerable expertise and insight to the senior management team, but her contribution is restricted by her being required to take responsibility for a class.

p.16

Commentary

40. The headteacher has released the intelligence and potential of staff, and this is backed by firm but supportive performance management and appropriate training. To assure the quality of staff development the school is well on the way to being recognised as an Investor in People.

p.16

Commentary

41. Staff realise there is still much to do, for example, in helping pupils with challenging behaviour manage their own behaviour and improving provision for the increasing number of pupils who are learning English as an additional language. Improvement planning is comprehensive and coherent but very complex. Now that provision overall is at least satisfactory and the ethos and climate for learning good, governors and senior managers recognise that the plan does not provide a sufficiently focused route to higher standards of attainment. Up until now, the plan was an immediate action plan to improve provision. As a consequence, it does not provide a sufficiently clear strategy and direction for the future. Colville Primary School - 17 42. Governors took care to appoint the right headteacher to turn the school around. They work efficiently through focused sub-committees and ensure that the school meets statutory

p.16

Commentary

requirements. Their support for the school is unstinting and yet they rightly question and test decisions made by the school’s management. Through links to subject leaders they are gaining a more secure understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and potential threats and opportunities. Even so, they miss strengths, for example, the very good Foundation Stage, and potential difficulties, for example, finance.

p.17

Commentary

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003 Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 537739 Balance from previous year 30000 Total expenditure 543029 Balance carried forward to the next 24210 Expenditure per pupil 2413

p.17

Commentary

43. Governors ensure that school finances are well controlled but the way they are accounted for does not show clearly enough that, if expected finance does not become available or if unforeseen costs arise, the school may not have sufficient funds to deal with these problems. Accounts show that the predicted balance to carry forward into 2004-2005 is much reduced. Similarly, there are only limited funds to support improvement that is still required, for example, increased provision for pupils learning English as an additional language and improved books for the library. Governors recognise that the time has come to market the school more actively and provide a more secure financial foundation for the future. Best value principles are not sufficiently embedded in the way management works. A strength of the leadership and management of the school is the way the school works as a valued partner of the local

p.17

Commentary

education authority, other schools and the community.

p.17

What is the effectiveness of community provision?

Community provision increases significantly the capacity of pupils to achieve and raises their aspirations.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The wide range of partnerships available to and used by the school. • The absence of a strategic plan to develop this provision as part of a unified improvement plan. Colville Primary School - 18

p.17

Commentary

44. Examples of this provision are mentioned throughout the report. What follows draws these parts together.

p.18

Commentary

45. The headteacher sees partnership with the community as crucial to the school’s success. Consequently, the school is a valued partner and many initiatives are supported and active. The school accommodates a voluntary pre-school group and this benefits children joining the school nursery. The teacher in the nursery is part of a university quality improvement scheme that is raising standards. The school works closely with a specialist sports college and has recently joined the national sports co-ordinator initiative; together these projects have increased the range of training and expertise available to the school, and has enriched the curriculum leading to raised aspirations of pupils. Health professionals linked with a local surgery not only contribute in lessons but provide a health drop-in centre for parents. The school is part of the Healthy Schools award scheme, and this is already improving PSHE provision. There are

p.18

Commentary

developing partnerships with local businesses that give point and relevance to the pupils’ learning. The school accommodates community activities, for example, a band, and encourages pupils to take part in the scouting movement; this helps pupils to see they can learn within the community as well as in school.

p.18

Commentary

46. Together these initiatives make a significant contribution to pupils’ achievement and personal development. The governors could usefully consider drawing these initiatives together as part of a cohesive, strategic plan, especially as the school has just received confirmation of funding for an after-school club. Colville Primary School - 19

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Provision for the Foundation Stage is very good. Teaching is usually very good or excellent and, consequently, most children will meet or exceed the national goals for the end of the reception year.

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Excellent planning that provides a very broad and interesting curriculum. • Very good assessment that is used rigorously to improve both teaching and learning. • A very stimulating and exciting setting for learning. • Very good teaching by teachers and assistants. • There are insufficient modern computers.

p.19

Commentary

47. The school houses a voluntary pre-school group. Close co-operation between school and pre- school group gives these children a very good start. Children attend the school’s nursery on a part-time basis; there are separate morning and afternoon groups. The attainment on entry in one of these groups is broadly average but the attainment in the other is below average or low. Speaking and listening skills are below average when children join both groups. Achievement overall in both nursery groups is high, and the more able children reach most of their early learning goals before moving on to a reception class. Unfortunately, however, most of the high attaining children progress to a reception class in another school. This means that the children who join the reception class have mainly below average attainment.

p.19

Commentary

48. Both nursery and reception classes provide a very good setting for learning. Both are very well organised to provide an exciting, stimulating and structured place in which to learn. Staff are highly opportunistic; poor drainage outside is not seen as a problem but an opportunity to learn through ‘wonderful’ puddles. The style of the nursery and reception teachers is very different but equally very good. In the nursery, teaching is highly structured and this teaches not only basic skills and routines but also gives children very strong learning habits. In the reception class, teaching is equally very effective but also appropriately encourages children to think and investigate for themselves more freely. The two styles complement each other, giving the children an excellent start to their schooling.

p.19

Commentary

49. A strength in both classes is the strong team work with teaching assistants. They take a full part in the teaching and a crucial role in collecting continuous assessment data that is immediately used to improve teaching and learning.

p.19

Commentary

50. Both teachers provide strong leadership for their separate areas and the provision as a whole. All the staff have a passion for early years education that they apply with highly professional insight and skill. Management is very effective and efficient, leading to very good planning and a strong team spirit that uses the skills of all staff. Teaching is usually very good or excellent and this enables all children to make good progress. Considering their low starting points, children’s achievement is high since most children reach or exceed the early learning goals by the time they progress, very well prepared, to Year 1. Colville Primary School - 20

p.19

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is excellent .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff have high expectations and ensure that children meet them. • Staff very skilfully help children with challenging behaviour gain self-control.

p.20

Commentary

51. Most children join the school with immature social skills. Therefore, staff in the nursery provide firm but caring structures for behaviour and work. Consequently, children feel secure and quickly learn that thinking about others and concentrating hard bring personal rewards. In the reception class, this learning becomes more demanding and independent, and children are overtly made aware of their responsibility to manage their own behaviour. To balance this, staff encourage children very positively to express wonder at what they learn and experience. Most children will exceed the early learning goals by the time they progress to Year 1.

p.20

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is very good .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff take every opportunity to build the children’s speaking and listening skills. • Staff help children gain a joy in books and reading. • Staff quickly help children to write their letters confidently and to record their learning.

p.20

Commentary

52. Staff in both classes use very clear language and expect children to follow their example. Children are encouraged to be ‘listening lizzies’ and see it as a target to meet. Consequently, they not only listen intently but work hard to understand what they hear. Writing is introduced as a fun but important skill and reading as opening a window to exciting stories and information. The children find learning the sounds of letters and fitting them together to make words a source of wonder and satisfaction. Most children will meet their early learning goals by the end of the reception year, and a significant number will exceed them, speaking clearly, understanding what they hear, reading simple texts on their own and writing complete sentences.

p.20

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is very good .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff provide continuous opportunities to count and use number. • Staff help excellently children to understand shapes and the way they relate.

p.20

Commentary

53. In both classes, all staff skilfully bring the importance of number and shape into every activity. They encourage counting to record what the children learn, show children how to use number to solve or sort out problems, and to use shape and groupings to arrange objects in useful Colville Primary School - 21 ways. Consequently, children become increasingly aware of the importance of number and mathematics. Despite low starting points, most children will reach their early learning goals by the time they progress to Year 1, and some will be able to carry out simple calculations.

p.20

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is very good .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff provide a rich environment for investigation. • Planning covers all the aspects of learning. • The old computers restrict the children’s access to information and communication technology.

p.21

Commentary

54. Staff realise that most children have a very restricted experience of the wider world and plan accordingly. Children can use displays to investigate nature and start with simple science. They learn to relate home, school and places they visit on holiday, and begin to understand that events happen over time. The use of construction toys and making things with everyday materials is a particular strength. This introduces children to ideas such as design for a purpose and structures. However, the computers are old and this restricts children’s access to up-to-date computer programs (the school plans to improve these computers within the near future). Most children will meet the early goals by the time they progress to Year 1, and some will exceed them.

p.21

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is very good .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff provide many opportunities for children to use small tools skilfully. • Staff have high but not too high expectations of children when using their bodies.

p.21

Commentary

55. Most children join the two classes with average attainment in dexterity and the ability to control their bodies. Highly structured and well-planned activities help children gain very good skills when using small tools, brushes when painting and pencils when writing. From the start, children are taught how to manipulate and control their bodies, and be conscious of not only how exercise changes their heartbeat and breathing but how to improve the way they control movements. In an excellent lesson in the nursery, children performed very demanding exercises using equipment and concentrated intensely on how to improve. In a lesson in reception, children not only learned to move, turn, stop and start skilfully but could then move on to use movement expressively. Most children will exceed the early learning goals before they move on to Year 1.

p.21

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision in creative development is good with much that is very good. Colville Primary School - 22

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The range of learning is wide. • The children need more opportunity to use their imagination through role play and completely free creativity.

p.22

Commentary

56. Displays in both settings are extremely creative, introducing children to a world of beauty and human expression. Staff provide well-chosen activities for children to investigate many materials and techniques to create their paintings and attractive artefacts. Music plays a continuous part in the work of both classes as does dance. Children in reception found weaving coloured materials to create a ‘dream-catcher’ fascinating, and play creatively in the pretend ‘ark’. Even so, children in both classes need even more opportunity to use their imagination and emotions. Staff recognise that it is very difficult to balance the need to provide opportunities for children to use their imagination while intervening to move the learning forward, because the children have very limited ability to think in this way when they join the school. Most children will meet the early learning goals before they join Year 1, but too few will exceed

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Planning is good and ensures learning progresses one step at a time. • Teaching is at least satisfactory and often good. • There is a strong emphasis on speaking and listening, which has resulted in an overall improvement. However, this area would benefit from further development. • Handwriting and presentation are good. • Monitoring and assessment are insufficiently focused on the progress and achievement of all pupils. • The very good practice demonstrated with home/school reading diaries at the end of Key Stage 1, is not followed in all classes. • There is an attractive and spacious library but the range and quality of books require improvement. • Pupils have too few opportunities for imaginative writing.

p.22

Commentary

57. The results of the national tests in 2003 showed that standards in reading and writing have improved at Key Stage 1. Although the test results for Key Stage 2 did not improve, the evidence gathered during the inspection strongly suggests that standards are improving in reading and writing and are satisfactory. Attainment overall by Year 6 meets national expectations, showing significant improvement since last year.

p.22

Commentary

58. The achievement of all groups of pupils is good. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported by teaching assistants, support teachers and a reading recovery programme. Boys and girls generally perform equally well. Pupils with English as an additional language would benefit from further specialised support to develop their higher order speaking, listening, writing and reading skills more quickly. Colville Primary School - 23 59. The clear emphasis on speaking and listening has resulted in improvements, and benefits from a clear and effective policy. The emphasis on speaking and listening and the very good opportunities created within the PSHE programme are helping pupils to make good progress. Many pupils speak confidently and are developing into articulate speakers by the end of Key Stage 2. Some pupils with special educational needs and some with English as an additional language would benefit from more and more focused teaching to improve their ability to

p.22

Commentary

understand better what they hear and to communicate their ideas and questions more clearly. Teachers could usefully build on the pupils’ good speaking and listening skills to improve their thinking, for example, in using language to infer and deduce.

p.23

Commentary

60. Pupils are achieving well in reading. There is a structured reading scheme, which is supplemented by additional reading books. Teaching assistants run effective and regular guided reading sessions. By the end of Year 2 pupils are developing the ability to read fluently and with expression. By the end of Year 6 pupils of all abilities make satisfactory progress. The effective use of very good home-school reading diaries at the end of Key Stage 1 ensures that parents are involved in hearing their children read on a regular basis at home. It would be highly beneficial to extend this practice throughout the school, as reading records are not used consistently.

p.23

Commentary

61. Pupils are achieving well in writing because of the teachers’ commitment to improvement in this area. There is good evidence of writing in different genres and examples of this are celebrated in displays and class books. There are too few opportunities, however, for pupils to develop their imaginative writing. The challenging behaviour of a minority of pupils in some classes is impeding their ability to achieve to a satisfactory standard, despite the support of teaching assistants. ICT is sometimes used to record and present writing in different areas of the curriculum and offers opportunities for further improvement. Classroom computers were not seen in use during the inspection. However, a laptop computer is made available to an older pupil with specific learning difficulties, to support and encourage him to write. This good practice could be developed in all classes. Handwriting and presentation are good.

p.23

Commentary

62. Teaching is at least satisfactory and often good. There is a strong emphasis on speaking and listening. Careful questioning, matched to pupils’ differing abilities, enables all pupils to develop as effective listeners and speakers. Teachers' sound knowledge of the teaching of phonics is enabling pupils to make good progress in this area, as well as in reading and writing. Teachers know when to intervene to offer further support and guidance when pupils are writing. Pupils’ work is marked consistently but written comments vary in quality. Too little marking contains constructive advice to pupils and, consequently, pupils do not have a clear understanding as to how to improve. Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well, which leads to good opportunities for learning. Pupils of higher and average ability are developing the skill to become independent learners but this is less the case with lower ability pupils.

p.23

Commentary

63. The subject co-ordinator has recently been appointed. A comprehensive improvement plan with clear priorities is being implemented but is due to be reviewed. A good speaking and listening policy is supporting the development in this area. Achievable targets have been set for all pupils to reach by the end of the year. The comprehensive reading resources have been reorganised centrally to enable teachers to have full access to appropriate materials. However, in the school library, there are not enough new books. Generally, the books do not reflect the rich cultural and ethnic mix of the school and the wider society. Additionally, dual language books would support better the provision for pupils with English as an additional language. The subject leader has a good understanding of the ongoing priorities for development but needs the appropriate time, training and resources to enable her to fulfil her role and potential.

p.23

Language and literacy across the curriculum

64. There are good opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking, listening and literacy skills in all curriculum areas. This is making a significant contribution to raising standards overall.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Attainment in national tests is well below average. • Standards seen during inspection are in line with national expectations. • Teaching is good, enabling pupils to achieve well. • Assessment procedures do not provide pupils with enough guidance on how they can improve. • Leadership and management are good.

p.24

Commentary

65. Although results in recent national tests are below average in Year 2 and well below in Year 6, standards of work seen during the inspection were in line with national expectations.

p.24

Commentary

66. Most of the lessons seen during the inspection focused on number skills. In Years 1 and 2 strategies for addition and subtraction are well established and pupils employ efficient methods. For example, Year 1 pupils know that a good way of adding money is to start with large coins and add on the ones and twos. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 develop these skills and can accomplish quite difficult tasks in their heads. They all tend, however, to use the strategies taught and rarely employ alternatives. Throughout the school pupils show average standards in work on shape, measuring and data handling.

p.24

Commentary

67. Teaching is good overall. All the lessons seen were good with the exception of a satisfactory lesson in Year 1 and a very good example in Year 5. In the Year 1 lesson a small number of pupils did not achieve as well as they might have. This was directly caused by an unsettled atmosphere caused by two pupils exhibiting challenging behaviour requiring the teaching assistants to remove them to calm down. This left groups who had been planned to have adult support unassisted and some struggled. The teacher, however, worked well in difficult circumstances to ensure that the majority achieved well. Overall pupils achieve well as a result of the good teaching.

p.24

Commentary

- Appropriate challenge for pupils of all abilities. - Very perceptive teaching with skilled intervention to help those struggling and the addition of extended challenges to those who understand concepts swiftly. - Teaching assistants are well briefed and support groups well. - Teachers’ good use of mathematical vocabulary. - Very supportive use of praise from adults and other pupils. - Motivational approaches, including many that stressed that mathematics is fun.

p.24

Commentary

69. Assessment of pupils’ work is generally sound but not all marking indicates what pupils need to do to improve their work.

p.24

Commentary

70. The subject leader ensures that there is a consistent approach to teaching mathematics throughout the school. He has identified those aspects of the subject which need a sharper focus to raise standards. Despite the low standards attained in recent tests, the findings of the Colville Primary School - 25 inspection show that the achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching and the provision overall have significantly improved since the last inspection.

p.24

Mathematics across the curriculum

71. Pupils use mathematical skills productively; in work in other subjects for example, they use their measuring skills in science experiments and their knowledge of shape and angles in creative artwork on computers. Pupils use a good range of graphs to display findings in history and geography.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards in national tests are below average. • Standards seen during inspection were in line with national expectations. • Pupils achieve well as a result of good teaching. • There is a good emphasis on developing the skills and thinking necessary for scientific enquiry. • Leadership and management are good.

p.25

Commentary

72. Although the results in the most recent national tests and assessments showed attainment to be below average at the end of Years 2 and 6, the work seen across the school during the inspection was in line with national expectations.

p.25

Commentary

73. Pupils throughout the school show a good understanding of what constitutes a fair test. For example, Year 1 pupils were able to state that in investigating their toy vehicles it was important for all the cars to have the same starting point on a ramp. Year 5 pupils produced a range of criteria to ensure that their experiment on the conditions needed for plants to reproduce would be fair and accurate. Consistent teaching and modelling of scientific terms ensures that by the end of Year 2 pupils can hypothesize about the possible results of experiments. By Year 6 pupils are showing their knowledge of the full span of the curriculum and reach some interesting conclusions. For example, one pupil noted that, ‘The meat in the light had blue mould because bacteria thrive on light’.

p.25

Commentary

74. All the teaching seen in the subject was good, with one very good lesson observed in Year 4. This quality of teaching enables pupils of all abilities to achieve well.

p.25

Commentary

- Good emphasis on the skills needed for scientific enquiry. - Good subject knowledge and modelling of scientific vocabulary by teachers. - Well organised experiments giving pupils progressively more responsibility in planning. - Consistent methods of recording including objective, fair test criteria, prediction and conclusion. - Imaginative activities which motivate pupils. - Good use of discussion by teachers at beginning and end of sessions, and between pupils, teachers and teaching assistants during experimentation. - Sound teaching of scientific facts across the whole range of the curriculum.

p.25

Commentary

76. The assessment of what pupils have learned is sound but there is not enough evidence in marking of advice which enables them to understand what they need to do to improve. Colville Primary School - 26 77. The subject leader has accomplished a good deal in a short time. She changed the syllabus to establish a greater emphasis on scientific enquiry and this is evident in all classes. She has clear plans for improving performance based upon accurate monitoring of work and analysis of a range of tests. There has been good improvement in the subject since the last inspection.

p.25

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Provision in information and communication technology (ICT) is satisfactory .

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• There has been recent improvement in resources, staff expertise and pupils’ achievement. • Teaching is good. • There are insufficient opportunities to use ICT for control purposes in Years 3 to 6.

p.26

Commentary

78. Throughout the school, standards in ICT are average. This is a substantial improvement since the last inspection and has come about as a result of an improvement in resources, especially the ICT suite, and an increase in teacher expertise and confidence. The achievement of pupils is now satisfactory and basic skills are well established. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 are already proficient in basic procedures, logging on independently and opening programs. Year 2 pupils were observed saving their work and then using ‘save as’ to rename a second piece of work. Pupils of this age are also very aware of the skills that they have as a result of well organised recording sheets in which they monitor their own progress.

p.26

Commentary

79. In Years 3 to 6 pupils further develop their word processing skills. They create charts to illustrate work in a range of subjects and produce very attractive pictures using a range of ‘draw’ and ‘paint’ programs. Older pupils access the internet for research and produce a range of presentations using ‘PowerPoint’. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are extremely competent at accessing a range of files in which their work is saved, but they tend to work too quickly at times.

p.26

Commentary

80. The teaching seen was good with all teachers systematically introducing new skills and procedures. They are aware of pupils wanting to work very quickly and keep stressing the need to be more systematic.

p.26

Commentary

81. Although the whole range of word processing skills is well developed in the curriculum there are few opportunities for pupils, especially in Years 3 to 6, to use computers to make things happen using control mechanisms. For the subject to continue to improve, this aspect will have to be improved. There is too little evidence on display around the school, and especially in the computer suite, of some of the good work that is going on in all classes. Improving this would encourage achievement and raise aspirations.

p.26

Commentary

82. The subject leader has worked sensitively to gain the confidence of teachers and to help them build on their skills. Management is good.

p.26

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

83. Pupils regularly and productively use computers in a range of subjects. Research is undertaken in almost every subject; amongst the examples seen was research on Shakespeare in English, graphs showing the growth of traffic since 1950 in history, research into vaccines for science. Word processing is used alongside art and design technology work in Year 2, and even Year 1 pupils use history websites to compare toys in the past with their own. Colville Primary School - 27

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• A good curriculum framework and perceptive planning. • A wide variety of visits and visitors. • A clear action plan for improvement. • Established cross-curricular links with English and ICT, although these would benefit from further development. • The subject leader has insufficient time to monitor standards and work with teachers. • Pupils are making progress in their understanding of chronology but further consolidation is necessary.

p.27

Commentary

84. The recently appointed subject leader has a clear action plan for improvement. Pupils’ work from different year groups is being collected and usefully annotated. The subject leader plans to increase monitoring and is aware of the importance of developing further cross-curricular links with other areas of the curriculum. A good start has been made.

p.27

Commentary

85. Based on evidence from discussions with pupils and analysis of previous work, it is clear that pupils enjoy history and teaching is at least satisfactory throughout the school. Attainment in Years 2 and 6 is average. The learning is extended and significantly enriched by visits to places of interest and visitors who lead themed days that pupils find very interesting. There is a clear scheme of work to guide teachers.

p.27

Commentary

86. The pupils talk about history with enthusiasm and about similarities, differences and changes. They demonstrate their increasing factual knowledge and they offer thoughtful opinions about key people and events. They know how to locate information in books and on the Internet, and understand that historical knowledge comes from balancing and testing evidence. An analysis of the work of Year 2 pupils, which had been made into big class books, showed the pupils’ developing understanding of key events and people they have studied. Throughout the school, however, pupils do not have a sufficiently clear understanding of chronology.

p.27

Geography

Provision in geography is satisfactory .

p.27

Main strengths and weaknesses

• There is a good variety of maps, including ordnance survey maps of the local area. • Planning, including detailed medium-term plans, provide a clear framework. • Resources to teach geography are too limited and in need of updating. Colville Primary School - 28

p.27

Commentary

87. The subject leader was not available during the inspection. There is a sensible and helpful curriculum framework for geography, which is followed throughout the school.

p.28

Commentary

88. Towards the end of Key Stage 1 pupils are developing their knowledge and understanding of places well. This is usefully supported with cross-curricular links to literacy. Year 3 pupils were observed developing their geographical skills by using photographs and maps to compare their locality as it was and as it is now. A discussion with Year 6 pupils showed that they have a sound understanding of their own locality. The pupils demonstrated their knowledge of their locality in comparison with a locality elsewhere in the world. They were quite knowledgeable about the way decisions are made that can improve or damage people’s lives. They were able to use an atlas to locate places in different countries. They also talked confidently about a study of rivers that they had undertaken. On the basis of this evidence and previous work in books, pupils make reasonable progress and attainment in Years 1 to 6 is average.

p.28

Religious education

Provision in religious education is good .

p.28

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching and learning are good. • Pupils find the subject interesting and respect the beliefs of others. • The subject is well led and managed. • The topics are not arranged so that they match religious festival over the year and, consequently, opportunities are missed to celebrate the various faiths of the pupils.

p.28

Commentary

89. The provision is well led and managed, and the syllabus reflects the locally agreed syllabus. The schemes of work provide step-by-step learning, although it would be sensible to align topics more closely with the religious festivals celebrated by pupils of different faiths in the school. Pupils from ethnic minority cultures say that they want their own traditions to be celebrated not just respected.

p.28

Commentary

90. Teaching and learning are good. Teachers ensure that all pupils make at least reasonable progress and modify pupils’ attitudes that initially are not familiar with thinking in reflective ways. Consequently, the subject increases pupils’ spiritual as well as moral and cultural development, and their response to the subject is good. Planning shows good subject knowledge and understanding, and teaching shows significant expertise, for example, in helping pupils to think quietly, allowing their feelings to come through. A very good example was seen in a lesson where the teacher created a quiet time when pupils thought deeply about their feelings while watching a lit Diwali lamp. These approaches, including circle-time, generate high achievement, as in a lesson linked to circle-time that probed the feelings of Mary and Joseph on the way to Bethlehem. Work in books includes good extended, expressive and reflective

p.28

Commentary

writing. Standards match the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus in both Years 2 and 6. Provision is much better than at the last inspection.

p.28

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Art and design, music and design and technology were sampled during the inspection. On this evidence, provision in art and design and music is satisfactory, and in design and technology good. The three subjects are reported on together to support the school’s plans to develop these areas of the curriculum as a whole. Colville Primary School - 29

p.28

Commentary

91. The art and design work on display around the school is of an average standard, although there is very little evidence of high quality work. Displays feature work by famous artists and a very attractive mural but those of pupils’ own work lack inspiration. The school is working to develop basic skills through the introduction of sketchbooks and the subject leader plans to raise pupils’ aspirations through work with professional artists. Leadership overall is satisfactory.

p.29

Commentary

92. In design and technology the large amount of work in this subject throughout the school shows that provision and pupil attainment are good. Pupils are systematically taught to plan, design and evaluate their work and the many examples on display are of good quality. Year 2 pupils, for example, have produced very attractive coats to coincide with their religious education work on Joseph, and Year 4 cleverly designed chairs to suit pupils’ favourite fictional characters. All the work seen shows that pupils are given good opportunity to reflect on their success and on how they might have improved the item made. Leadership and management are both good.

p.29

Commentary

93. No judgment can be made about attainment in music . Pupils were interviewed about their musical experiences, and planning was scrutinised. This suggests that the music curriculum fulfils requirements and that there are opportunities for enrichment through specialist music tuition at subsidised rates and through membership of the school choir. Singing in assemblies was melodic and tuneful with an enthusiastic and expressive sense of enjoyable performance. Leadership and management are satisfactory but the subject leader has too many other crucial full-school responsibilities.

p.29

Commentary

94. Full-school improvement planning intends to enlarge the profile of these creative subjects to increase excitement in learning. This is a very worthwhile initiative, alongside plans for full- school productions.

p.29

Physical education

Provision in physical education (PE) is good and significantly improved through partnership with a local specialist sports college.

p.29

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Sensible re-organisation of the available teaching time. • Productive partnership with the local secondary school. • Good use of the adjacent sports hall. • Effective transition opportunities before going to secondary school. • Good use of specialist teachers. • The good opportunities that result from the development of dance. • The positive results of participation on School Sports Co-ordinator Programme. • The increase in the range of new sports.

p.29

Commentary

95. The deputy headteacher is the subject leader. Strong leadership and effective management are driving improvement. He has re-organised the timetable in order to create an additional time slot in the mornings. This has enabled teachers to plan more efficiently and resulted in each class having two hours of timetabled physical education each week.

p.29

Commentary

96. The school derives considerable benefit from being linked to the local specialist sports college. As a result, all classes benefit from being taught by a PE specialist on a rolling programme. As Colville Primary School - 30 part of this programme, pupils in Year 6 study dance and they present their work at the college prior to moving into Year 7.

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Commentary

97. The school has recently been accepted into the School Sports Co-ordinator Programme, which is funded externally. This will enable the co-ordinator and other teachers to benefit from extensive training opportunities. Pupils have the opportunity to play relatively new sports e.g. Tri-golf, Korf Ball and Rugby League Modified Rugby. Good links with Cambridge City Council football and rugby coaches provide opportunities for gifted and talented pupils. Swimming is taught to pupils in Key Stage 2. Towards the end of Key Stage 2, pupils in Years 5 and 6 receive further opportunities to swim if they have not reached their target.

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Commentary

98. Pupils make good progress in physical education and achieve high standards. They are encouraged to evaluate each other’s performance and they are keen to improve their own performance. This was particularly evident in a Year 4 dance lesson when, despite some challenging behaviour, boys and girls were enthusiastically involved in learning a ‘Lindy Hop’ routine. Provision is much improved and the attainment of pupils throughout the school is above average. Achievement is high, mainly, but not solely, due to the school’s pro-active work with partners. The provision is making a major contribution to raising the aspirations of pupils.

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Personal, social, health and citizenship education

Provision in personal, social, health and citizenship education (PSHE) is good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Strong and inspiring leadership places the subject at the core of the curriculum. • Effective management ensures that staff have the confidence to deliver the well-considered programme of study. • Teaching is good. • Pupils treat the subject maturely. • PSHE enriches learning in many subjects.

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Commentary

99. Provision has improved since the last inspection, especially recently. Using guidance from a locally developed syllabus, the pupils study topics suitable to their age and each topic builds foundations for the next step. This good learning makes a very positive contribution to pupils’ personal development and this shows in the serious way in which pupils treat the topics. It is a major reason why they mature well as they move up the school.

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Commentary

100. The subject does not stand alone, but is the core of provision for personal development. The learning is deepened through effective circle-times (time when pupils can discuss concerns), is given practical importance by linkage with codes of conduct, sanctions and rewards and given point through the school council and roles such as captains of houses. Similarly, visits and residential experiences give pupils the contexts in which to try out their developing social awareness and skills. Effective links are made with topics covered in such subjects as science and activities in physical education. Consequently, the course enriches learning across the curriculum.

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Commentary

101. Strong leadership and supportive, efficient management mean teachers can use their teaching skills to their full potential. They teach well and generate deep and reflective learning. Considering such areas as ‘emotional literacy’ (helping pupils to read their own and others’ emotions properly and to respond appropriately) offers an area for possible development. Colville Primary School - 31 Participation in the Healthy School initiative is and has made a significant contribution to improvement. Colville Primary School - 32

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 4 How inclusive the school is 3 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 4 Value for money provided by the school 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 4 Pupils’ achievement 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 3 Attendance 4 Attitudes 3 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 3 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The quality of education provided by the school 4 The quality of teaching 3 How well pupils learn 3 The quality of assessment 4 How well the curriculum meets pupils’ needs 4 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 3 Accommodation and resources 4 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 2 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 3 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 3 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 2 The quality of the school’s links with the community 3 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The leadership and management of the school 3 The governance of the school 4 The leadership of the headteacher 2 The leadership of other key staff 3 The effectiveness of management 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); poor (6); very poor (7).

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