Modbury Primary School

MODBURY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 19 th – 21 st January 2004

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MODBURY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Modbury Primary School - 2 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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MODBURY 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. Modbury Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 4 – 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 163

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Barracks Road Modbury South Devon Postcode: PL21 0RB

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 01548 830312 Fax number: 01548 830921

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Gregory Warwick Johnson

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 8 th March 1999

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school caters for pupils aged four to 11 living in and around the village of Modbury in South Devon. It occupies a large site that is partly owned by the local church, with a mixture of original buildings, later additions and temporary classrooms. There are currently 163 pupils on roll, all of whom are of white British ethnic origin, with English as their home language. Pupil mobility is average overall, but is above average in some year groups, including the current Year 6. A wide range of family backgrounds is represented, with an increasing number of pupils from families living in social housing. School buses transport a significant proportion of pupils. Fewer than eight per cent of pupils claim free school meals, putting the school in the highest possible socio-economic category for comparisons of performance. The proportion of pupils on the special educational needs register is well above average at 27 per cent. Most of these pupils have learning needs and a small

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

number have physical needs. Four pupils have a statement of need, which is also an above average number for the size of school. A family learning project is established and the school is involved in the national Leadership Development Strategy in Primary Schools and the Small Schools Fund. The school received a School Achievement Award in 2000. Modbury Primary School - 4

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

23583 Peter Kerr Lead inspector The Foundation Stage, mathematics, art and design, music, physical education. 11104 Michael Fleming Lay inspector 12116 Christina Morgan Team inspector Special educational needs, English, geography, history, religious education. 8864 Peter Clifton Team inspector Science, information and communication technology, design and technology.

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Demeter House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2RS

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the 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). Modbury Primary School - 5

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 11

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

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school provides a satisfactory standard of education . Progress is good in Years 1 and 2 and at least satisfactory in reception and Years 3 and 4. The rate of progress slows in Years 5 and 6 so that pupils do not achieve as well as they should by the end of Key Stage 2. Teaching and the curriculum are satisfactory. Leadership by the headteacher is good and management is satisfactory. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are: • Standards are not as high as they should be at the end of Key Stage 2, especially in writing, because of weaknesses in teaching in Years 5 and 6. • The headteacher provides good leadership and there is a good team spirit in the school. • Good teaching in Key Stage 1 is enabling pupils to make good progress. • Pupils do not use their computer skills enough across the curriculum. • Insufficient attention is paid to the specific learning needs of some pupils.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school has made satisfactory improvements since the previous inspection. Teaching in reception, Key Stage 1 and Years 3 and 4 has improved significantly, but the weaknesses that remain in Years 5 and 6 limit the pupils' final achievements. Satisfactory improvements have been made in the remaining key issues of raising standards in mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT) and increasing the efficiency of school improvement planning.

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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 C C D E mathematics E E C E science C D B C Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

The pupils’ overall achievement is currently unsatisfactory because standards in Years 5 and 6 are not as high as they should be. The 2003 test results in English and mathematics suggest that the pupils in this school achieved much lower results than other pupils who had similar results at the end of Year 2. However, taking into account the movement of pupils in and out of the school during that period, the inspection found that achievement was below rather than well below average. The reception children achieve the expected early learning goals and pupils in Years 1 to 4 attain standards typical for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. Learning slows in Years 5 and 6, preventing many pupils with above or below average ability from achieving as well as they should by the time they leave the school. Standards in speaking and listening are above average in Year 6, but standards in writing, using and applying mathematics, experimental science and ICT are below

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

average. Insufficient written evidence was available to judge standards in religious education, but discussions revealed significant gaps in the pupils' knowledge.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

The pupils’ personal development is satisfactory. The social and moral aspects of their development are good; the spiritual and cultural aspects are satisfactory. Pupils behave well overall. They have good attitudes to school and their work and good relationships with each other and with the adults in school. Poor behaviour by a few pupils hinders learning in some lessons in the upper juniors. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory. Modbury Primary School - 7

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education provided by the school is satisfactory.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

Teaching is satisfactory overall. It is satisfactory in reception, with many strengths, particularly in personal, social and emotional development, where the children learn well. Teaching is consistently good in Years 1 and 2, where pupils learn at a good rate because tasks are usually well matched to their prior attainment. Teaching and learning are always at least satisfactory in Years 3 and 4 with some good teaching. There are significant weaknesses in teaching in Years 5 and 6, where learning slows. Marking is poor at this stage and assessments are not used to plan work to meet the needs of pupils with differing levels of attainment, particularly the more able pupils and those with specific learning needs. Speaking and listening are taught well throughout the school, but writing is not developed enough. Basic numeracy skills are taught satisfactorily.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The curriculum is satisfactory. It is enriched with a wide range of good quality voluntary activities, including art, music and sport. Parents are supportive of the school. Good links keep them well informed about life in school and their children’s progress, including classes to update their knowledge in some subjects. Arrangements for the care and welfare of the pupils are good.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher provides good leadership and is a good role model for staff. Management is satisfactory; it has been effective in remedying weaknesses in some areas of the school’s work, but is not yet fully effective in ensuring consistency in the quality of teaching and achievement throughout the school. Relationships are good and the school has a strong commitment to equality of opportunity. Governance is satisfactory. The governors are supportive of the school and ensure that it meets its statutory requirements, but are not involved enough in raising expectations for the level of performance for all staff.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents are supportive of the school and appreciate the hard work the teachers put in. They feel well informed about the work of the school, but some would like more information about their children’s progress. Some parents are unhappy about the quality of the marking of homework in Years 5 and 6. The pupils like school and they like their teachers.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are: • Improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils' achievement in the upper juniors. • Raise standards of writing across the school. • Raise standards in using and applying mathematics and experimental science. • Raise standards in ICT and ensure that pupils use their skills. • Ensure that the specific learning needs of pupils on the special educational needs register are clearly identified and supported. Modbury Primary School - 8

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

Children achieve satisfactorily in the reception class, well in Key Stage 1 and satisfactorily in Years 3 and 4. Progress slows down in Years 5 and 6, leading to unsatisfactory achievement for pupils at the end of Key Stage 2.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement in Years 5 and 6 is unsatisfactory, though progress is satisfactory from reception to Year 4, with good progress in Key Stage 1. • Standards in speaking and listening are good throughout the school, but writing is weak. • Pupils’ skills in using and applying mathematics and investigative science are underdeveloped. • Standards are still not high enough in some aspects of ICT and pupils do not use their computer skills enough in other subjects.

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Key Stage 1

1. The school’s results in the Year 2 tests were declining from 1999 to 2001 in reading and writing. Since then they have been improving, with more rapid gains in writing than in reading. The 2003 results were well above the national average in writing but still below average in reading. The mathematics results declined until 2002, when they were well below average, and then rose to well above average in 2003. As the numbers of pupils taking the tests is not large, some of these variations can be explained by differences in year groups, but the school has also strengthened provision in Key Stage 1, and this is contributing to current good progress.

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Key Stage 1

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

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Key Stage 1

Standards in: School results National results reading 14.9 (14.7) 15.7 (15.8) writing 16.7 (13.8) 14.6 (14.4) mathematics 17.7 (15.3) 16.3 (16.5) There were 20 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Key Stage 1

2. The inspection found that standards are above average in speaking and listening at the end of Year 2 and average in reading, writing and mathematics. Standards are a little lower than in 2003 because there are fewer more able pupils in this year group. The children are making good progress in these subjects and achievement is satisfactory at this stage. Standards in other subjects, including science and ICT are as expected by the end of Year 2. No judgement was made about standards in religious education at this stage.

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Key Stage 2

3. A declining trend in Year 6 test results from 2000 to 2002 was arrested in 2003 in mathematics, when they rose from well below average to average, and in science, where they rose from below to above average. The downward trend continued in English as results fell from average to below average compared to all schools in 2003. Modbury Primary School - 9 Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003

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Key Stage 2

Standards in: School results National results English 26.4 (27.2) 26.8 (27.0) Mathematics 26.7 (25.1) 26.8 (26.7) Science 29.8 (27.6) 28.6 (28.3) There were [number] pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Key Stage 2

4. These results reflect unsatisfactory achievement because they were well below average in English and mathematics compared to other schools that achieved similar results at the end of Key Stage 1 in 1999. Not all of the pupils that were tested had been at the school for the full four years, but even allowing for this, the results showed that not enough value had been added by the school. Some pupils made better than average progress, but some other pupils had not made enough progress.

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Key Stage 2

5. The inspection found that standards are below average in English, mathematics and science in the current Year 6. This is partly because a number of pupils have joined the school since Year 3 with below average attainment, but also because of some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in Years 5 and 6. More able pupils do not do as well as they should in writing, mathematics and science because shortcomings in the planning, assessment and marking of work lead to a lack of challenge. Lower attaining pupils also do not make enough progress because not enough lessons cater for their needs. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported in lessons by teaching assistants, but not enough of this work is related to their individual educational plans. These are also too general in some cases. As a result, the pupils are helped to accomplish the same tasks that are set for other pupils rather than to achieve

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Key Stage 2

6. Standards in ICT are below average at the end of Year 6 but are improving. There are still gaps in the pupils' skills, for example in handling data, and the pupils do not yet use ICT enough to support their learning in other subjects. Not enough written evidence was available to make a secure judgement on standards in religious education, geography and history. Conversations with pupils showed significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding of world religions. Standards in art and design are average at the end of Year 6. There are examples of good quality work in some year groups. Insufficient music was seen to judge standards in all aspects of the subjects, but standards of singing are good and those pupils who play instruments play them well. The provision of out of school clubs helps to raise standards in these subjects. Standards in gymnastics at the end of Year 2 and dance at the

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Key Stage 2

end of Year 6 are as expected. Judgements were not made about other aspects of physical education.

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Foundation Stage

7. The overall attainment of children on entry to the school is average, with a wide spread. They make satisfactory progress through reception overall, with good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Most of them achieve the early learning goals in all six areas of learning for children of this age before they leave reception. The children are well prepared for the National Curriculum.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils have good attitudes to school. Their personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is satisfactory overall. They behave well and develop well morally and socially. Modbury Primary School - 10

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils enjoy their work and behave well around the school and in most lessons. • Poor behaviour by a few pupils in some lessons impedes learning. • Pupils develop good social skills and a good moral sense. • The school makes the importance of good attendance very clear to parents.

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Commentary

8. The pupils have good attitudes towards their work and develop good relationships with each other and with the adults in the school. They enjoy lessons that offer them challenge, in which they give of their best. Some of the pupils with special educational needs showed great pride in their accomplishments after this lesson because of the good support they had received with organising and expressing their thoughts. In some lessons in upper Key Stage 2, the pupils' attitudes are much less positive. They appear bored on occasions because they have to listen to the teacher for too long and have too few opportunities to contribute their own ideas. The children in reception have very good attitudes to their work. They love school because of the teacher’s enthusiasm, the range of interesting experiences provided and the extent to which their thoughts and ideas are listened to and valued. They exceed the early learning goals in

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Commentary

9. Behaviour is good around the school and in most lessons. It was good in all of the lessons observed during the inspection in reception and Years 1 to 4 and was satisfactory in some of the lessons seen in Years 5 and 6. The only time that behaviour was less than satisfactory was in lessons that did not cater for the full range of needs within the class. On these occasions, the poor behaviour of a few pupils went unchecked, leading to inattentiveness, negative attitudes and unsatisfactory behaviour among other pupils. There have been no exclusions in recent years and any rare incidents of bullying are swiftly and effectively dealt with. The school is free of racism and sexism.

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Commentary

10. Relationships are good throughout the school. The teachers and other adults in the school set a good example to the pupils, treat them fairly and expect them to be mature and responsible. The pupils respond well to these high expectations by undertaking any tasks they are given sensibly and use their initiative well whenever they are given the chance to do so. They have a well developed sense of what is right and what is wrong. They express their opinions confidently, but are also willing to listen to other points of view. They develop a good aesthetic sense through art and design and music lessons and have a sound awareness of spiritual values, though pupils in Year 6 have only a hazy awareness of the range of beliefs that help to shape people’s lives in the wider world.

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Attendance

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%) Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data: 6.0 School data : 0.1 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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Attendance

11. The level of attendance has declined since the last inspection, but is satisfactory. The school explains the reasons why full attendance is important in the prospectus and other documents and effectively discourages holiday taking during term-time. Most parents appreciate that in order for their children to gain the maximum benefit from school it is necessary for them to spend maximum time there. Pupils enjoy school and like their Modbury Primary School - 11 teachers, so they are willing to attend and are punctual. The rate of attendance is only below the national average because of the significant effect absences by a few pupils have on the figures for a small school.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The school provides a satisfactory quality of education. Teaching and the curriculum are satisfactory and a good standard of care is provided. The quality of teaching and learning, including assessment, and the curriculum are satisfactory overall, with good extra provision for the arts and sport.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching is satisfactory over the school as a whole. It is consistently good in Key Stage 1 and there are many strengths in the reception class and in Years 3 and 4. The pupils do not learn enough in Years 5 and 6 because there are too many unsatisfactory aspects to teaching. Assessment is satisfactory overall, but unsatisfactory in Years 5 and 6.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Consistently good teaching in Key Stage 1 enables the pupils to make good progress. • Poor marking and assessment contribute to unsatisfactory learning in Years 5 and 6. • Some of the support for pupils who have special educational needs is not linked closely enough to their specific learning difficulties. • Good teaching fosters good personal, social and emotional development in reception.

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Commentary

12. The quality of teaching has improved overall since the last inspection, when only 22 per cent of lessons were judged good or better. In this inspection, more than half of the lessons were good or better. However, the proportion of unsatisfactory teaching has also increased. The table below shows the number of lessons in each category. Percentages are not given as fewer than 30 lessons were observed. The overall judgement is satisfactory despite the unsatisfactory and poor lessons because these were limited to two year groups. The quality of teaching was good in all of the lessons seen in Key Stage 1 and always at least satisfactory and sometimes good in reception and Years 3 and 4. A significant proportion of the teaching seen in Years 5 and 6 was not good enough and none was better than satisfactory.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 29 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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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.

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Commentary

13. The most significant feature of the best lessons seen was the extent to which they met the needs of pupils of different abilities and prior attainment enabling them to achieve well. In a very good English lesson in Year 1, for example, the more able pupils were challenged to write a story without help, while average attaining pupils had the support of pictures, lower attaining pupils used role-play to reinforce the story and pupils with special educational needs had support recognising and writing specific words. In this lesson, all the pupils learned at a very good rate because they were highly motivated and well supported to make progress towards clear attainable targets. In a good mathematics lesson in Year 2, the teacher aimed questions of varying difficulty at individual pupils according to their prior attainment and listened carefully to their replies to gauge their understanding. This helped pupils of all abilities to consolidate

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Commentary

their understanding of place value. Modbury Primary School - 12 14. In unsatisfactory and poor lessons, on the other hand, the teacher’s input and the activities are pitched at one level, leaving the more able pupils bored and the lower attaining pupils frustrated. This leads to very poor behaviour in Year 5, where a significant proportion of the pupils need more specific help and support than they are given. Some of these have arrived from other schools, but others have been at the school since Key Stage 1. This reflects a historic failure to identify accurately and provide for some specific learning needs. In a mathematics lesson, for example, the lower attaining pupils were expected to solve problems involving two separate calculations when they did not have the basic number skills to work out each step. Meanwhile, the more able pupils did not have the challenge and support they needed to fully explain in writing how they had solved the problems. Writing is not encouraged

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Commentary

as much as it should be in other subjects.

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Commentary

15. Another characteristic that clearly separates the good teaching from less effective lessons is the balance between teacher input and pupil participation. In the best lessons seen, the introductions were brief and lively and the pupils were fully involved both through answering questions and through practical involvement, for example balancing objects with weights in Year 1. There is then plenty of time for the pupils to work through the tasks that have been set and for the main points of the lesson to be brought together at the end. In some of the less successful lessons, the teacher talks for too much of the time, giving the pupils too few opportunities to contribute. This leads to loss of interest and motivation among many of the pupils and limits the extent to which the teacher can gauge their understanding.

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Commentary

16. Assessment is satisfactory. Teachers use the results of tests and other information to group pupils according to their prior attainment. This information is used well in some lessons, especially in reception and Years 1 to 4, but some lessons in Years 5 and 6 do not take enough account of it. The marking of pupils' work is good throughout Years 1 to 4 and some of it is exemplary. For example, in Year 4 in mathematics, marking is used to keep a dialogue going between the teacher and the pupils about their work, maintaining high motivation and good learning. Marking is unsatisfactory in the upper juniors, particularly for Year 6. It is inconsistent and is not used effectively to help the pupils to know how well they are doing and to improve. Work that should have been marked is sometimes left unmarked, errors go uncorrected, and are therefore repeated, and some of the personal comments made are

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Commentary

inappropriate. The concern parents expressed about the quality of the marking of homework in these year groups is justified.

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Commentary

17. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to the pupils' learning overall. They know the pupils well personally, and do their best to keep them engaged with their work. In some lessons, their contributions make the difference between satisfactory and unsatisfactory progress. They give good support to pupils with special educational needs. In some classes, this is targeted at the pupils' specific individual need, good learning occurs. In other cases, however, the pupils' specific needs have not been identified accurately enough. The support they are given often succeeds in getting them to complete the set tasks but not to make progress towards their own individual targets.

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Commentary

18. Good teaching of personal and social development in the reception class enables the children there to grow in confidence and become active, enthusiastic learners. They co-operate well together and work independently because of the high expectations set by the teacher and the excellent relationships established within the classroom. There are elements of good teaching in the other areas of learning, especially in developing the children’s spoken communication skills. The lack of a teaching assistant for most of the week hinders learning because the children do not have the level of interaction with adults that they need to get the most out of some of the activities. Relationships are good throughout the school, contributing to a positive atmosphere for learning. Modbury Primary School - 13

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The curriculum

The overall quality of the curriculum is satisfactory. The opportunities provided for enrichment of the curriculum through clubs, visits and special events are good. Accommodation and resources provided to support learning are satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good early experiences prepare pupils well for Key Stage 2. • Some important areas of the curriculum are underdeveloped. • Opportunities for learning outside the school day are good. • Support for some pupils with special educational needs is not sufficiently linked to their specific difficulties. • Recently qualified staff are making a good contribution to the curriculum.

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Commentary

19. The overall quality of provision has been maintained since the last inspection. The curriculum meets all statutory curriculum requirements and satisfactorily implements the locally agreed syllabus for religious education. Opportunities for personal, social and health education are planned carefully throughout the year and include appropriate education about sex and relationships and the dangers of drug abuse. The secure provision in the early part of the school is ensuring that pupils enter Key Stage 2 well prepared. This is because there are particularly good links between reception, Year 1 and 2 classes, and pupils’ skills are developed appropriately.

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Commentary

20. The leadership in the school is maintaining an appropriate focus on curriculum improvement, although progress in some areas has been slow. The use and development of writing and ICT skills across the curriculum are underdeveloped and pupils do not acquire good enough skills in using and applying mathematics and experimental science.

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Commentary

21. Support staff are well trained, committed and hard-working. The teaching assistants provide a vital link between home and school, for example through a well attended ‘Learning Together’ sessions where pupils and parents work on joint activities. They have established very good relationships with pupils and are instrumental in enabling lower attaining pupils to access the curriculum. There is insufficient allocation of teaching assistant time in the reception class to support the teacher in providing the maximum possible range of Foundation Stage activities. In the past, there has been insufficient focus on the early diagnosis of pupils’ specific learning difficulties. As a result, problems have persisted into Years 5 and 6, necessitating considerable additional adult input at this stage, which is still not targeted at specific needs in some cases.

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Commentary

22. There is considerable enrichment of the curriculum. There are good opportunities for pupils to take part in activities before school starts at lunchtime and after school. The school keeps records of attendance for each year group and the monitoring of activities includes a section on how they support the pupils' learning. The range of activities to enhance sport and the arts is particularly strong. During the inspection, for example, a music club for infants was well attended and clearly a lot of fun, and a parent with specialist skills in teaching cello and violin provided a valuable opportunity for a small group of pupils to play together. A small group of junior girls was also observed playing the flute to a very good standard under the guidance of one of the teachers. Skills were developed well in all these activities.

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Commentary

23. The school is spread out over a large site and provides adequate space to deliver the curriculum. The quality of some of the accommodation makes it difficult for the school to provide a stimulating learning environment, and there are plans to renovate or remove some of the least attractive areas. Since the previous inspection, resources have been improved Modbury Primary School - 14 and extended in a range of subjects and are now satisfactory overall, although there is still a need to provide even more resources to support ICT across the curriculum and for pupils with special educational needs. There is a good mix of experience on the staff. Newly appointed staff, who are recently qualified, are making a good curriculum contribution to the school because they have brought new skills and have established good relationships with staff and pupils.

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Care, guidance and support

Care, guidance and support are good overall. Systems for ensuring their health and safety are good. The staff know the pupils well-and provide them with satisfactory educational guidance and good personal support. The school respects the pupils' views and takes them into account.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Induction arrangements are good. • Most pupils like school and are comfortable asking for help. • Good attention is paid to ensuring pupils’ health and safety.

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Commentary

24. The school is a friendly and relaxed community. The arrangements for induction into school are good. They include visits and meetings as well as useful documents for parents, so that pupils settle in quickly and feel happy and secure. The children in reception are well cared for. The teacher has a good understanding of their needs and caters well for their personal, social and emotional development. The school supports the pupils' progress well up until the end of Year 4, but the oldest pupils are not so well served. Less effective assessment of their needs leads to work being provided for some pupils that is not at the most appropriate level. The marking of pupils’ class-work and homework does not always provide advice which helps them to improve.

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Commentary

25. The school continues to take health and safety matters seriously, as noted in the last inspection report. It follows appropriate guidance regarding the assessment and amelioration of risk. Arrangements for ensuring child protection are led effectively by the headteacher. A good number of staff are trained in first aid. Procedures and facilities for dealing with fire, accidents, illness or other incidents are sound. Pupils from all backgrounds are treated equally and most feel confident of receiving academic assistance or personal support from teachers when they ask. Additional intervention programmes such as ‘Reading Recovery’ are increasingly effective in raising standards. There is good liaison with outside agencies to provide additional support for pupils.

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Commentary

26. A school council has been established, although only pupils from Year 6 serve as representatives. The pupils appreciate the fact that the school takes their views into account and acts on them where possible.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The school sustains a good, effective partnership with parents, who appreciate and benefit from classes that are provided for them. The school’s relationships with other schools and the wider community are satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Very good account is taken of parents’ views. • Communication between parents and the school is effective. • Parents provide good support for their children’s education. Modbury Primary School - 15 • Reports on pupils’ progress do not provide all parents with the information they require.

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Commentary

27. Parents recognise that the school is a vital part of the community and appreciate its efforts to educate and help their children to mature. Most parents express positive views about most aspects of the school’s work, particularly praising the hard work of staff. They have great confidence in the way their children are treated and helped to learn. Parents feel that behaviour in the school is mostly good, but a minority report that their children have experienced some bullying or harassment at school. However, there is broad agreement that this is normally handled effectively when drawn to the school’s attention. A few parents feel that more account could be taken of their views, and some are cautious about approaching the school with their ideas.

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Commentary

28. Inspection findings support parents’ positive views. Parents are generally happy with the way the school is managed and recognise the headteacher’s very good knowledge of all pupils in the school. This makes parents confident that their children’s needs are understood and will be met, including special educational needs. There are suitable formal opportunities for parents to discuss their children’s progress with teachers, and many take the opportunity to speak with teachers at the beginning or end of the school day, or raise general issues through a parent governor. Most parents are satisfied with the annual reports on their children’s progress, but they disagree about the usefulness of the way information is presented. Too many sections of reports lack useful information about precisely what pupils need to do in order to improve. However, information which helps parents to help their children, including

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Commentary

targets within subjects, is given orally at consultation meetings.

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Commentary

29. The school works hard to seek and act on views. A regular Parents’ Forum provides opportunities for them to raise issues and question the headteacher. Parents are confident that all opinions can be heard at these meetings. The home-school link books are an effective channel for communication. Parents receive a weekly ‘Friday Flyer’ which presents useful information in a friendly manner and encourages parents to be involved in their children’s education. Material presented in the school brochure and governors’ annual report helps parents to understand the school’s intentions and procedures and to support their children. A good number of parents help in the school, typically by hearing pupils read. The parent teacher association is very active in running events such as bazaars and the Strawberry Fete which contribute significantly to school resources.

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Commentary

30. A good number of classes take place in the school where parents develop their own skills and knowledge. The range of these courses is partly a response to parental demand for further understanding in areas such as literacy and information and communication technology. Many pupils benefit from their parents’ improved understanding of such work, although some parents are unable to attend classes during daytime. Suitable arrangements for pupils joining the school after reception or leaving for secondary school are in place. Secondary school links increase the range of sports facilities to which they have access.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The headteacher provides good leadership and other key staff give satisfactory leadership. The management of the school is satisfactory. Governance of the school is satisfactory. The governors fulfil all their legal responsibilities and do their best to hold the school to account for the standards achieved. Modbury Primary School - 16

p.15

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher provides strong leadership and is a good role model. • Provision in the lower part of the school has been successfully improved, but more effective action is needed to sharpen up the quality of teaching in the upper juniors. • Relationships in the school are good and there is a strong commitment to equality of opportunity regardless of race, gender or disability.

p.16

Commentary

31. The headteacher consistently provides a strong lead within the school. There is a high level of trust between the headteacher and the governors. The head keeps the governors well informed about the progress being made; they in turn provide good support. Both the headteacher and deputy have high aspirations for the school and have successfully established a common view about how the school should move forward. There are good relationships throughout the school and a climate where teachers are encouraged to take on responsibility. Several co-ordinators have recently taken up new responsibilities, which are clearly identified in the school development plan. Adults and pupils in the school are treated with fairness and respect; open discussion is encouraged. The school is a welcoming place.

p.16

Commentary

32. The school’s management has made significant improvements to provision, notably in the quality of teaching and learning in the reception class and Years 1 to 4, and in the curriculum for mathematics. Parents appreciate these improvements and think that leadership and management are good. The strengths of the current improvement plan, which outweigh its weaknesses, include: good inclusion of staff and governors in its development, a firm base in the use of data to identify areas of development and a strong programme of training for staff. However, the plan is not sufficiently clear about how the effectiveness of the action taken is evaluated on an ongoing basis. This limits the extent to which the governors can hold the headteacher to account for improvements. The current document also includes some unnecessary detail which obscures its focus.

p.16

Commentary

33. Some weaknesses persist despite the school’s efforts to address them. Chief among these is a lack of consistency in the quality of teaching. The headteacher sets high expectations for planning lessons that meet the needs of all pupils, but the monitoring and support that has taken place so far has failed to achieve this in Years 5 and 6, where a significant number of pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Standards in mathematics and science have been raised by the initiatives taken, but the pupils' skills in using and applying mathematics and in experimental science are not yet as good as they should be.

p.16

Commentary

34. The management of provision for special educational needs is satisfactory. The new special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) is enthusiastic and hard-working. She is inexperienced, but has already attended two introductory courses on the role of the SENCO. More specific training is now needed in order to address long-standing weaknesses in the early diagnosis of and support for pupils’ specific learning needs. Additional computer software and other materials to support pupils with specific learning difficulties is also needed.

p.16

Financial information

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003 Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 428,270 Balance from previous year 18,023* Total expenditure 402,950 Balance carried forward to the next 25,319 Expenditure per pupil 2,704 Modbury Primary School - 17 35. The school’s budget fluctuates during the year as pupils arrive or leave, but the school manages this well. An influx of pupils late in the year brought a budget surplus at the end of 2003. The money was well spent on providing an extra teacher in Key Stage 1 on a temporary contract. This proved good value for money because the provision here is strong, and illustrates the governors’ effectiveness in applying principles of best value to their spending. Provision in the Foundation Stage is less favourable because the reception teacher does not have regular support in the classroom. The high running costs of the buildings are an ongoing

p.16

Financial information

drain on resources which the school can do nothing about. Modbury Primary School - 18

p.17

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

The overall provision for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory . The teacher has established excellent relationships with the children. They are confident and happy learners in a safe and well organised classroom, and their parents very much appreciate what is being done for them. The children have very positive attitudes to learning, and make good progress when engaged in the many activities that the teacher plans for them. The leadership and management of this provision are satisfactory , but insufficient teaching assistant support is provided to facilitate the full range of supervised play activities that is expected in a Foundation Stage setting. The teacher nevertheless manages to keep good assessment records of individual children’s progress in each area of learning. Children with identified special educational needs are given appropriate support.

p.18

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is good.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching and learning are good. • The children fulfil the teacher’s high expectations for independence and responsibility. • Attitudes, behaviour and relationships are very good. The children co-operate and collaborate well together.

p.18

Commentary

36. The teacher provides a good quality of teaching in this area of learning and the children therefore learn and achieve well. They are given many opportunities to develop independence and a sense of responsibility during each day, to which they respond very positively. The teacher has high expectations of them to look after their own personal belongings and hygiene, and to play a full part in keeping the class tidy. The children rise well to this challenge, for example, by taking the initiative to tidy up after an activity, without waiting for specific instructions from the teacher. They co-operate and collaborate well with each other on routine tasks, playing in the various play areas and when working together on activities set by the teacher. Behaviour is generally very good. There are some children in the class who find good behaviour difficult, but the other children are largely unaffected by this because of the very

p.18

Commentary

effective way in which the teacher manages it. As a result of the consistently good teaching, the children learn well and most of them exceed the early learning goals in this area before they leave reception.

p.18

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is satisfactory.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The children have lots of opportunities to listen, talk, read and write. • There is insufficient adult support to exploit fully all the learning opportunities that arise and the focus of activities is not always clear. Modbury Primary School - 19

p.18

Commentary

37. The children’s attainment in language and literacy is broadly average overall when they enter the reception class. Some speak very fluently, with a wide range of vocabulary and expressions; others are much more limited in what they can say. The children also have a range of knowledge of letter sounds and many recognise a few letters and words by sight. The teacher provides many opportunities for the children to improve their oral communication skills, in whole class sessions, in role-play and when playing and working together. As a result, they make good progress and most are on course to achieve the expected levels in this area before the end of the reception year. The teacher successfully encourages a love of books, as a source of information as well as stories, and directs the children’s attention to key features to help them to begin to read independently. Daily routines include opportunities to write, for

p.19

Commentary

example by drawing familiar objects and writing their names each morning. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall. The children make best progress when under the direct supervision of the teacher. Progress is less sure when the children play because the activities have not always been set up with specific language and communication outcomes in mind and there is only one adult in the class most of the time to assess and support the children’s language development by observing and interacting with them as they play.

p.19

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is satisfactory .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The direct teaching of mathematics is good. • There are too few play activities with a clear mathematical focus.

p.19

Commentary

38. The children’s attainment in mathematical development is average on entry. The quality of teaching and learning and the children’s achievements are satisfactory. The children make sound progress and most achieve the early learning goals before the end of the reception year. There are plenty of numbers displayed around the class, and the children are confident in referring to these when they need to. For example, a boy pointed out where ‘12’ was written in a display to his friends when they were making a necklace with 12 things on it for their teacher. Good supervised activities such as programming a floor robot to go forwards and backwards along a line of numbers, and getting the children to find numbers on a number square, help the children to connect the names of numbers with the number they refer to in a practical context. The children make good progress in such activities because of their high level of interest.

p.19

Commentary

However, they are all kept together on the carpet for too long in some lessons. When this happens, the younger children and those with slower mathematical development lose concentration and fail to understand what is happening. The children have plenty of opportunities to play with mathematical equipment but the expected mathematical outcomes of the activities are not always clear and there is no teaching assistant to talk with them about what they are doing in order to assess and support their mathematical learning.

p.19

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is satisfactory.

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The children are provided with a good variety of experiences to enliven their learning. • There is insufficient adult support to exploit fully learning opportunities. Modbury Primary School - 20

p.19

Commentary

39. Teaching, learning and achievement are satisfactory. The children make sound progress and most of them achieve the early learning goals before the end of reception. A good range of experiences is provided to enable them to gain a wide knowledge of the world. For example, by growing cress seeds in different surroundings within the classroom, they are beginning to understand the importance of water and light for the healthy development of seedlings. Computers games are linked to their topics so that they develop ICT skills in a relevant practical context. During the inspection, for example, the role-play corner was a garden centre and pupils played a computer game that involved tidying away fruit by ‘clicking and dragging’. The teacher uses the spacious school grounds to enable the children to relate what they learn in the classroom to their surroundings, by, for example, walking round the field looking for signs

p.20

Commentary

of seeds growing. The teacher includes appropriate learning about religious ideas and how they affect the way people live in her planning over the year.

p.20

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for physical development is satisfactory.

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The teacher takes every opportunity to provide learning activities in the indoor and outdoor environment. • The limited amount of adult help and suitable space for outdoor play limit learning opportunities.

p.20

Commentary

40. The classroom is well organised to give the children ready access to a wide range of tools, from pencils to scissors. They are encouraged to use these independently so that they develop good manipulative skills. For example, when given the task of making a flower, the children used a template to draw round and cut out their own petals to stick on, without any help from the teacher. This made them work hard to keep the template still while drawing round it and to cut round the shape as accurately as they could. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The teacher does well to ensure that the children have regular, frequent access to the outdoor learning area, weather permitting. Most of the area is a grassy slope, however, preventing its use for wheeled vehicles or climbing apparatus during the winter or wet weather. Also, because the teacher is on her own for most of the time, there is insufficient adult

p.20

Commentary

supervision to make most use of this facility. Despite these restrictions, the children achieve satisfactorily and achieve the early learning goals in this area by the end of reception.

p.20

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision for creative development is satisfactory.

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The teacher encourages the children to express themselves creatively and independently. • The lack of a full time teaching assistant limits the range of opportunities available.

p.20

Commentary

41. Less evidence was gathered in this area of learning than in the others. The children were observed painting under the teacher’s supervision and acting out part of a story. They show the expected levels of skill in these aspects of the area of learning. They paint confidently, selecting brushes and colours from the range provided and creating pictures to represent what they are thinking of or looking at, which was flowers during the lesson seen. In role-play, they Modbury Primary School - 21 pretend to be a character in a story and behave accordingly, for example by being angry as Jack’s mum in discovering that he had sold their only cow for magic beans. The children make satisfactory progress, but these activities are not as fully exploited as they could be if extra adult help were available. A scrutiny of the teacher’s planning shows that at some times of the year the children are given more regular opportunities to paint as part of the daily routine.

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards of speaking and listening are above average across the school. • Standards in writing are below average in Year 6. • The quality of teaching is good in Years 1 to 4, where pupils make good progress and achieve well. • The quality of teaching is unsatisfactory in Years 5 and 6, leading to unsatisfactory progress in these year groups and unsatisfactory overall achievement.

p.21

Commentary

42. Good standards have been maintained in speaking and listening and reading since the last inspection. Achievement in writing is not as high as it was then. Most pupils enter the school with good speaking and listening skills. Opportunities for developing these further are incorporated into most lessons so that the pupils achieve well. Throughout the school most pupils demonstrate above average expressive and receptive language skills. By Year 6, they confidently put forwards ideas, justify their views with evidence and engage in reasoned discussion.

p.21

Commentary

43. Standards in reading are average and achievement satisfactory throughout the school. The majority of pupils in Year 2 are independent readers although few read at the higher level. Most pupils read regularly at home and can name favourite authors. By Year 6, about two thirds of pupils are confident readers of fairly demanding texts. Higher attaining pupils have an extraordinarily well developed knowledge and enthusiasm for a wide range of authors and in conversation show a strong critical sense. They understand the different literary genres, can give examples of each and justify their preferences with reference to the styles of particular writers. The remaining third of pupils discuss books with more skill than they read them, and struggle to read their current ‘group reader’.

p.21

Commentary

44. Pupils’ achievement in writing is unsatisfactory overall as progress falls off in Years 5 and 6. Their good speaking and listening skills are not transferred sufficiently to their writing. In Year 2, the majority of pupils are writing at the nationally expected level but few have above average skills. Although higher attaining pupils in Year 6 are able to write extensively for a range of different purposes, the attainment of the remaining two thirds of pupils is below that expected nationally. Of these two thirds, at least half are articulate, have a good general knowledge and can read a variety of demanding texts. However, the pupils are not appropriately challenged and supported with their writing, and the marking of their work does not give them sufficient guidance on how to improve. Their punctuation and spelling are erratic, and although some pieces of work are redrafted, insufficiently evaluative and helpful marking results in the revised

p.21

Commentary

versions containing many of the original errors. As a result, the pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. Modbury Primary School - 22 45. The quality of teaching is good in Years 1 to 4. In Year 1, there is a clear and effective emphasis on developing pupils’ writing skills. As a result, they make very good progress and a majority of pupils are confident and independent writers. The teacher uses assessments well to match tasks to the different levels of ability within the class and higher attaining pupils are suitably challenged. In Years 1 to 4, teachers mark pupils’ work conscientiously and give good guidance on how they can improve. Frequent opportunities for speaking and listening are built into lessons and clear connections are made between these and the pupils’ reading and writing development. Lessons proceed at a brisk pace, and good relationships within the classroom ensure that pupils settle quickly and work conscientiously. Pupils work co-

p.21

Commentary

operatively on tasks and share their ideas.

p.22

Commentary

46. In Years 5 and 6, a limited range of teaching strategies is used, and whole class teaching predominates. Assessments are not used effectively enough to ensure that the range of abilities in each class is planned for, which is why all pupils are often given the same tasks. Support staff and parents work hard to interpret the work for different groups. Both higher attaining pupils and pupils with special educational needs are frustrated by the poor match of tasks to their needs and this gives rise to inappropriate behaviour, especially in Year 5, which is often poorly managed. In Year 6, the marking of pupils’ work lacks a clear focus and there is no reference to pupils’ individual targets. Teachers in these classes lack a clear understanding of how to develop pupils’ writing.

p.22

Commentary

47. Those pupils who have special educational needs are given additional support by committed and hard-working teaching assistants. Sometimes this is linked closely to the pupils’ specific individual needs, in which case, the pupils make good progress. More often than not, however, the support is directed more towards helping these pupils tackle the same work as other pupils in the class, so they make insufficient progress towards their individual learning targets.

p.22

Commentary

48. The leadership and management of the subject are sound. The co-ordinator for English is aware of the need to improve standards of writing across the school. A good start has already been made, but there has been insufficient monitoring of teaching and learning to ensure that all staff are operating within a similar framework. A suitable amount of time is devoted to literacy in all classes although at present this time is not always used to best advantage and the purpose and focus of each session is not always clear. Pupils increasingly use computers to support their learning; this is an area for continuing development.

p.22

Language and literacy across the curriculum

49. While in most classes pupils are given good opportunities for discussion, this is insufficiently consolidated through written work in history, geography and religious education. Opportunities for research, extended writing and the recording of information are very limited. In mathematics and science, the pupils’ failure to explain what they have done clearly and fully in writing impedes the development of their understanding and limits the usefulness of their work for revision.

p.22

MATHEMATICS

Provision in mathematics is satisfactory.

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good in Key Stage 1 enables pupils to achieve well at this stage. • Weaknesses in teaching in Year 5 and Year 6 hold back progress, leading to unsatisfactory achievement.

p.22

Commentary

Modbury Primary School - 23 50. Overall, the quality of teaching in mathematics is satisfactory. Good teaching in Key Stage 1 enables pupils to achieve well overall to reach expected standards by the end of Year 2. The pupils develop confidence because they experience a good mix of whole class teaching and group and individual activities that are usually well matched to their needs. The teachers ask questions of individual pupils and listen carefully to their answers. They use this information, along with formal assessments, to gauge the pupils' progress and provide suitably challenging work. This is a good improvement since the last inspection. On occasions, the most able pupils are not stretched enough in Year 2. For example, they are sometimes given more sums at a similar level to the rest of the class rather than something more demanding such as explaining patterns in their answers.

p.23

Commentary

51. Teaching is satisfactory overall in Key Stage 2, with good teaching in Years 3 and 4 but unsatisfactory aspects of teaching in Years 5 and 6. Particularly good marking in Year 4 celebrates the pupils' successes and gives clear pointers towards the next steps. The pupils are also fully involved in their own learning. They have their targets pasted into their books and write comments to the teacher about their own progress, which the teacher responds to, creating a very positive dialogue. Marking is also positive and relevant in some other year groups, but it is ineffective in the top two classes, particularly in Year 6, where mistakes go uncorrected and any comments that are made are usually not very helpful. In both of these year groups, lesson observations confirmed the evidence from the scrutiny of work that pupils of different ability are not sufficiently catered for. Assessments are not used effectively enough

p.23

Commentary

to plan suitable challenging work for pupils of different levels of attainment. Lessons are aimed at the middle attainment group, with little by way of targeted questions for pupils of higher and lower ability. In some lessons, particularly in Year 5, this greatly exacerbates existing behavioural problems, and the behaviour of some pupils becomes unacceptable. When tasks are given to suit different levels of ability, the impact is lost somewhat because the teachers do not engage the pupils in sufficient dialogue about how they have solved the problems, so their understanding is not consolidated. Pupils with special educational needs have not had their specific needs accurately enough assessed. The teaching assistants give good support, but progress is slow because the tasks are not taking the pupils on from where they are in achievable steps.

p.23

Commentary

52. The falling off in progress during the last two years of the school results in some pupils not achieving as well as they should by the time they leave. Standards are below average at the end of Year 6, and achievement unsatisfactory. The leadership and management of the subject have been taken over recently by a relatively inexperienced member of staff. She has a good understanding of what needs to be done to raise achievement, but has not yet had the time and support to effect the necessary improvements. The use of computers to aid learning in mathematics is at the very early stages of development.

p.23

Mathematics across the curriculum

53. Pupils use mathematics when appropriate in other subjects, for example presenting results of experiments in science in the form of tables and graphs. However, the pupils seldom label and explain graphs fully and accurately. This limits their understanding and precludes opportunities for them to raise further questions.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

Modbury Primary School - 24 • Pupils achieve well by the end of Key Stage 1 because of consistently good teaching. • There are strengths in the teaching in Years 3 and 4. • Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are not achieving as well as they should be because lessons are not sufficiently well matched to their needs.

p.24

Commentary

54. Standards average in Year 2 but below average in Year 6. There has been a pattern of fluctuating test results over the past four years, but the overall trend has been above the national trend, representing satisfactory progress since the previous inspection.

p.24

Commentary

55. Consistently good teaching in Key Stage 1 is enabling the pupils to make good progress and achieve well. Many of the features of this effective teaching were observed in a Year 2 lesson, which identified and tested what plants need to grow; these included: • effective questioning that enables pupils of all abilities to explain their thinking to the rest of the class; • targeted support from the teacher which ensures that lower attaining pupils were given additional time to develop their understanding of setting up a scientific investigation; • a good mix of activities to catch the interest of the pupils.

p.24

Commentary

56. During the practical session, boys and girls worked well together without intervention from the teacher, discussing what they were doing and why. Follow-up written work was less effective because the teacher did not make it clear enough what was expected.

p.24

Commentary

57. Overall, the teaching in Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory. There are some particular strengths in Years 3 and 4 and weaknesses in Years 5 and 6. In Years 3 and 4, ideas are developed well over a series of lessons. Some good teaching here captures the imagination of the pupils, who show high levels of interest in their work. There is a strong practical focus to the subject and pupils evaluate what they have found out and write conclusions. In contrast, pupils’ evaluation of what they have found out is not sufficiently well developed in Years 5 and 6. There are gaps in the pupils' knowledge and understanding at this stage that lessons do not fill. Higher attaining pupils have very positive attitudes and could do better, and planning has not been sufficiently well adjusted to meet the needs of underachieving pupils, some of whom have recently entered the school. Overall, therefore, pupils are not achieving sufficiently well

p.24

Commentary

58. There is a clear understanding of subject strengths and weaknesses in the school. Recent training has focussed, appropriately, on improving the teaching of investigations. This has been successful in the lower part of the school where the provision is now good. However the procedures to track and support the pupils’ progress in the upper part of the school are not sufficiently strong. The use of ICT to support the subject is underdeveloped, and there is insufficient focus on how best to use the subject to contribute to the improvement of the pupils' literacy and numeracy skills, especially in Years 5 and 6.

p.24

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

Provision in ICT is satisfactory and improving.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement at the end of Year 2 has improved since the last inspection and is now sound. • Pupils make patchy progress through Key Stage 2, leading to unsatisfactory achievement in some areas of the subject. • ICT is not used enough to support learning in other subjects.

p.24

Commentary

Modbury Primary School - 25 59. In Year 2, pupils’ ICT skills are average. Only one lesson was observed in Key Stage 1 and this was well taught. The pupils made good progress because the teacher gave them clear information and tasks which enabled them to enter a sequence of instructions accurately into the computer. The pupils’ very positive attitudes and a well structured lesson ensured that learning was effective for the whole of the session. Overall, pupils achieve satisfactorily throughout Key Stage 1.

p.25

Commentary

60. Although standards are improving in Key Stage 2, they are still below average in Year 6 and the pupils' achievement is therefore unsatisfactory. The pupils have the expected skills in some areas of ICT but not in others. The pupils are confident in using the internet to search for and locate websites to find out information and to send email messages. Few pupils are using ICT at the higher levels of competence and there are some specific weaknesses in data handling and using spreadsheets. The samples of work indicate patchy progress through Years 3 to 6. Lessons cover all the required areas of the subject but the pupils have too few opportunities to practise their skills and develop understanding through their work in other subjects. For example, not enough is made of the many opportunities in different subjects for pupils to collect and present data in the form of computer-generated graphs and

p.25

Commentary

61. The school has made satisfactory progress since the previous inspection, as there has been an improvement in standards and a very significant improvement in resources. The well established suite provides a good resource, although the computers here, as well as those in the classrooms, are under-used. The co-ordinator indicates that although staff skills and knowledge have improved recently, there is a need to provide further training in some aspects. There is sufficient expertise in the school to do this.

p.25

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

62. Although there is an improving use of information and communication technology in the school, planning for and use of ICT in other subjects is unsatisfactory. Opportunities are being missed across the whole school to use word processing to support writing, for example, as well as to process data.

p.25

HUMANITIES

63. Only two geography lessons were observed during the inspection and no history lessons were seen, so no judgement was made on provision. There is very little work recorded in pupils’ books for either subject, making assessment of their progress difficult. Lesson planning, which is based on national guidelines, has an overall coherence, and includes good use of the locality to support learning. There is an appropriate emphasis on the development of subject specific skills and good connections are made between the subjects, for example in linking map work in geography to patterns of settlement in history.

p.25

HUMANITIES

64. Insufficient evidence was seen to make a secure judgement about provision in religious education . The school provides sufficient time for the coverage of the locally agreed syllabus, which links closely with pupils’ personal, moral and social education, although they are taught as discrete subjects. Discussion with pupils indicated that they have a patchy knowledge of the main world religions and find it difficult to identify common themes. Lessons rely heavily on discussion, and as this is rarely consolidated through written work, pupils find it difficult to build on their previous knowledge or make connections between different aspects of their learning. As a result, knowledge is randomly acquired, specific understanding and skills are not built on progressively, and it is difficult to assess what has been learned. Good use is made of art and design to reinforce learning. For example, pupils made divas, ‘rangoli’

p.25

HUMANITIES

Modbury Primary School - 26 and ‘mendhi’ patterns in connection with the Hindu festival of Diwali. A good range of visits also takes place, for example to the local church and to Buckfast Abbey, to consolidate learning about Christianity and to celebrate the main Christian festivals.

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

65. Too few lessons were observed in this area for judgements to be made about the quality of provision. Sample observations were made instead. One lesson was observed in art and design, and pupils’ work in portfolios and on display were scrutinised. Inspectors observed parts of music lessons in Year 1 and Year 6, and listened to singing and playing in assemblies and observed some instrumental tuition. Only one full lesson was seen in physical education, in dance. Parts of other dance and gymnastics lessons were observed to judge the pupils' achievements, as well as part of an after-school netball match.

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

66. In art and design it is clear from teachers’ planning and from the work on display and in portfolios that the pupils undertake a wide range of creative art and design. The pupils build on their drawing and painting skills from Year 1 onwards in a systematic way, improving their powers of observation and their expertise with a range of media such as charcoal, pastels and water colours. They undertake a variety of work in three as well as two dimensions, such as clay relief tiles in Key Stage 1 and fantasy hats in Key Stage 2. Good opportunities are provided through the art club for those pupils with the interest and talent to develop their skills still further. The subject makes a good contribution to the pupils' personal development by extending their aesthetic awareness and widening their appreciation of the creative output of people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

67. The pupils sing well in music . They put expression into their voices and keep in tune. In Year 6, they hold their own part when singing in two and three part rounds. The quality of playing by pupils who take instrumental lessons on strings and woodwind is very good. These pupils thoroughly enjoy their music and their efforts enrich the creative and cultural life of the school. The evidence was insufficient to make on overall judgement on standards in the subject as a whole at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

68. Insufficient evidence was gathered to make judgements about design and technology .

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

69. In physical education year 2 pupils reach standards typical for their age in performing a sequence of movements on the apparatus. They travel, jump and land with control, and practise and improve their performance. Pupils in Year 6 put a lot of expression into their dance movements, but the activities seen were not demanding enough for them to show the full range of what they could do. The pupils observed playing a competitive netball match after school showed a typical range of skills for this age in positioning themselves, throwing and catching a ball and aiming at the net. The daily pre-school fitness class makes a good contribution to the pupils’ personal development by establishing a healthy element into their daily routines. Good provision for swimming, with an on-site pool, ensures that the vast majority of pupils going through the school learn to swim at least 25 metres and acquire basic

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

water safety awareness and skills. The school is making a good contribution to the government’s Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) strategy.

p.26

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION

70. No lessons were observed in this area of the school’s work and so no overall judgements are made about provision. The school places a strong emphasis on the pupils’ personal development, with due attention paid to sex and relationships and drug education appropriate to the age of the pupils. There is a programme in place across the whole school which is timetabled during the week and delivered through subjects. For example, the importance of a healthy diet is taught during science work. Modbury Primary School - 27

p.26

The overall effectiveness of the school 4

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

p.27

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 4

Attendance 4 Attitudes 3 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 3 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 4

p.27

The quality of education provided by the school 4

The quality of teaching 4 How well pupils learn 4 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 3 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 4 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 4 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 3 The quality of the school’s links with the community 4 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 4

p.27

The leadership and management of the school 4

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

p.27

The leadership and management of the school 4

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

p.27