St Ambrose Catholic Primary School

St Ambrose Catholic Primary School

Dates of inspection: 12 th –15 th January 2004

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St Ambrose Catholic Primary School

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 St Ambrose Catholic 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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St Ambrose Catholic Primary School

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Voluntary Aided Age range of pupils: 3-11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 226

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Alderfield Drive Speke Liverpool

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 0151 425 2306 Fax number: 0151 425 2167

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Fr E Cain

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

This is a Roman Catholic Primary School situated in southern most point of Liverpool, in a socially deprived area, with over 45 per cent of pupils entitled to a free school meal. The school is involved in the Excellence in Cities initiative, has received a DfES Achievement Award in 2002, Healthy Schools Award and the Basic Skills Quality Mark in 2003. There are 226 pupils on roll including the nursery provision. There is a much lower than average minority ethnic population. About 20 per cent of pupils have Special Educational Needs but only one pupil has a Statement of special educational need. There are no pupils whose mother tongue is not English. The children’s attainment on entry to the nursery is below average. Very few pupils join or leave the school at times other than the normal. St Ambrose Catholic 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

15064 Paul Bamber Lead inspector English as an additional language; English; history; geography. 31718 Denise Shields Lay inspector 21547 Pearl White Team inspector Foundation Stage; special educational needs; information and communication technology; art and design; music. 20326 Peter Clark Team inspector Mathematics; science; design and technology; physical education.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Altecq 102 Bath Road Cheltenham Gloucester GL53 7JX

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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). St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 5

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 9-11

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 9-11

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 12-16

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’s provision is currently satisfactory , with many aspects improving. Pupils achieve well as a result of the good teaching they receive and their positive attitudes to learning. The leadership of the headteacher is strong and purposeful. Governance is currently poor. There have been recent significant barriers to improvement in pupils’ achievements in the present Years 2 and 6 as a result of staffing problems. The school provides satisfactory value for money

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• Despite some recent improvements governance is poor. • Pupils in Years 5 and 6 do not achieve expected standards in information and communication technology (ICT) because the full National Curriculum is not taught. • Pupils’ good attitudes to learning and their sensible behaviour, contribute well to their good achievements. • The headteacher’s leadership and management are good and he has acted effectively to improve standards and the quality of education. • The quality of teaching is good, apart from in the reception classes, where there are some weaknesses in the teaching of children’s creative and physical development. • Pupils’ spelling is unsatisfactory and prevents standards in English from being higher.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

Improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory. Standards have risen, particularly in mathematics and science. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is better. Attendance has improved. Most teachers now plan lessons in more detail and use assessments more effectively. The weaknesses in the work of the governors remain. Standards in ICT have not improved sufficiently in Years 5 and 6.

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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 E E C Mathematics B C B A* Science C C C A Key: A* very high; 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

Pupils’ achievement is good. The majority enter the school with low standards, often very low in communication, language and literacy. Children make good progress in the nursery. In the reception classes, children make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development and in their reading, writing and understanding of number. However, the achievements of children in the reception year are not as good in their creative and physical development, due to some weaknesses in teaching and the quality of outside accommodation. Pupils achieve well in Years 1 and 2. Overall achievement is good in Years 3 to 6, apart from in ICT, in which pupils in Years 5 and 6 underachieve because they are not taught the full National Curriculum for the subject.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

The Year 2 2003 national test results, show that pupils attained well above average standards in writing, above average standards in reading and average standards in mathematics. Although standards in mathematics were lower than those in reading and writing, they represent a very good improvement on the standards achieved in the previous three years. When compared with similar schools, standards were very high in reading and writing and well above average in mathematics. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 7 The table above, referring to Year 6 national test performance, shows the general trend for pupils to attain higher standards in mathematics than in other subjects, reflecting some excellent teaching in Year 6. Pupils’ performance in Year 6, compared to those in similar schools was average in English, and well above average in mathematics and science. The comparatively lower average attainment in

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

English, reflects the difficulties pupils have speaking clearly, reading and writing more complex texts, and in their spelling. Both the current Year 2 and Year 6 classes have a higher than average proportion of pupils with special educational needs and both classes experienced considerable disruption to their learning during the 2002-2003 academic year because of staffing difficulties. As a result, their standards are not as high as those indicated by the 2003 national test results. In Year 2, standards are broadly average in writing, mathematics and ICT, but below average in speaking, reading and science. Differences are due to individual pupils’ different abilities in the subjects. In Year 1, standards are higher and in line with expectations in those subjects fully inspected. In Year 6, standards are presently average in mathematics, but below average in English and science. The continued excellent teaching of mathematics to Year 6 pupils enables them to achieve very well

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Pupils’ personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good . They have positive attitudes and behave well. Attendance is broadly average but too many pupils arrive late for school in the morning.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education is satisfactory . The quality of teaching is good , especially in promoting the pupils’ good achievements. There is some particularly good teaching of English and mathematics in Year 6 and consistently good teaching in Year 2 and in the nursery. There are some weaknesses in the teaching in the reception year. The school’s curriculum is unsatisfactory because the full National Curriculum for ICT is not taught and as a result, standards are below expectations in Years 5 and 6. However, the curriculum offers pupils a considerable diversity of experiences, with very good provision and teaching in Spanish and in the wide range of extra-curricular activities offered. There is a weakness in the outside accommodation for children in the reception year. The quality of care, support and guidance is satisfactory. Pupils value the trusting relationships with adults, but feel that their views are insufficiently sought by the school. The partnership with parents is unsatisfactory

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

because the school does not provide good enough information for them and parents are insufficiently involved in supporting their children’s learning.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Both leadership and management are satisfactory . The headteacher leads the school with strong purpose and clear vision. Other staff with managerial posts carry out their responsibilities satisfactorily and are becoming increasingly influential in raising standards. Despite some very recent improvements, governance is currently poor . The school is currently not complying with requirements in that the full National Curriculum for ICT is not taught and there are omissions in the information they are required to provide for parents. Governors are not involved enough in financial management, monitoring standards or in acting as a ‘critical friend’ to the school.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents have positive views of the school. They are particularly pleased about the quality of teaching, their children’s good progress and how hard their children are expected to work. Inspectors agree with these positive views and with the concerns that some parents have that their views about the school are insufficiently sought. Pupils spoke highly of the school in discussions held with inspectors, citing friendly teachers, a wide range of activities and good behaviour as the aspects they most liked. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 8

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

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

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Improve standards and provision in ICT. • Improve standards in spelling throughout the school. • Ensure that the teaching of creative and physical development in the reception year improves. • Ensure that the governors become much more effective in carrying out their roles and responsibilities.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Teach the full National Curriculum for ICT. • The school needs to provide all the required information in the Governors’ Annual Report to Parents, in the School Prospectus and in the end-of-year written reports to parents. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 9

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

Achievement is good . In the Foundation Stage, children’s achievement is good overall. Children in the nursery achieve consistently well in all their areas of learning. While achieving well in their personal, social and emotional development, in communication, language and literacy and in mathematics in the reception year, children’s achievements in the other areas of their learning are only satisfactory. Although currently standards in Years 2 and 6 are not as high as in other year groups, throughout Years 1 to 6, pupils’ achievements are good. However, pupils do not achieve as well in spelling.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are usually high when compared with similar schools. • Pupils achieve well. • Children in the nursery make good progress in all areas of their learning. • There are some weaknesses in children’s achievements in the reception year. • Spelling is unsatisfactory throughout the school.

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Commentary

1. As a result of consistently good teaching, the children in the nursery achieve well, making good progress towards the targets set for them nationally. Children in the reception classes make generally good progress towards meeting their set targets in their personal, social and emotional development, in mathematics and in communication, language and literacy. However, some weaknesses in planning and assessment mean that, although satisfactory overall, in some aspects of their creative and physical development, children achieve less well, especially in their ability to explore and investigate.

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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 16.7 (16.5) 15.7 (15.8) writing 16.0 (15.3) 14.6 (14.4) mathematics 16.5 (14.9) 16.3 (16.5) There were 30 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

2. In the 2003 Year 2 national tests, pupils’ standards were above average in reading, well above average in writing and average in mathematics. When compared to similar schools standards were in the top five per cent in reading and writing and well above average in mathematics, indicating high achievement. The improvement in the school’s test results has been better than the average over the last five years.

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Commentary

3. In the current Year 2, standards are not as high as those reflected by last year’s test results. This year group has a relatively high proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and their learning was substantially disrupted last year because of staffing problems. As a result, their progress has been slower. Currently, standards in writing and mathematics are broadly average, but below average in speaking, reading and science. Differences are due to individual pupils’ specific difficulties in reading and some relative weaknesses in the science curriculum. However, pupils are now achieving well given their low average attainment on entry to the St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 10 school and to Year 2, as a result of the good teaching. Pupils in Year 1 have higher average standards and are achieving well. Pupils attain average standards in ICT.

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Commentary

Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results English 25.3 (24.7) 26.8 (27.0) mathematics 28.0 (27.4) 26.8 (26.7) science 28.4 (28.6) 28.6 (28.3) There were 29 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

4. Recent test results indicate improvements above the rate found nationally. Standards in English remain below average, reflecting the pupils’ difficulties in speaking clearly, writing complex sentences, inferring meaning from what they read and in spelling correctly. Compared with similar schools, standards in English have been broadly average over the last two years, whilst standards in mathematics and science have been well above average. The pupils’ relatively lower achievement in English reflects the weaknesses already referred to earlier in this section. National comparative data shows that last year’s Year 6 pupils made very good progress between Year 2 and Year 6.

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Commentary

5. Currently standards in Year 6 are broadly average in mathematics, but below average in English and science. As with the present Year 2, a higher than usual proportion of the Year 6 pupils have special educational needs and the class suffered considerable disruption to their learning last year. Excellent teaching of mathematics in Year 6 has resulted in pupils making rapid progress in the subject this year. Pupils in Year 6 are in line to reach the realistic targets set for them in this year’s national tests in English and mathematics. To do this will represent good achievement. Standards in ICT are below expectations in both Years 5 and 6 because pupils do not have access to the full National Curriculum nor to adequate resources.

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Commentary

6. Standards in Years 3, 4 and 5 are higher than in Year 6, reflecting their higher attainment when they took the Year 2 tests. Their achievements are good in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 also attain expected standards in ICT and achieve satisfactorily in the subject.

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Commentary

7. Throughout the school, pupils with special educational needs achieve as well as other pupils, as a result of the effective support they receive. This is a considerable improvement on the provision reported at the time of the last inspection. More-able pupils also achieve well because they are set work in lessons that match their needs.

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Commentary

8. Pupils use their literacy skills satisfactorily to support their work in a range of subjects. They write reports, notes, captions and pen-portraits to enhance their learning in history, geography and in science.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes, values, behaviour and other personal qualities are good . Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils’ good attitudes to school help them to achieve well because they enter lessons wanting to learn. • Relationships and pupils’ behaviour are good throughout the school. • Religious education lessons and assemblies contribute well to pupils’ spiritual development. • Pupils’ moral development is good. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 11

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Commentary

9. Pupils like school and have high praise for their teachers, feeling that there is always an adult they can approach with any concerns. They participate enthusiastically in activities. For instance, school clubs, which allow pupils to develop their personal interests, are well attended. Nearly all pupils, including those with special educational needs, have good attitudes to school. It was noticeable during the inspection that pupils entered classrooms looking forward to their work. They respond well to planned activities that match their needs.

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Commentary

10. Pupils contribute to their own classroom rules and there is a well-structured system of rewards and sanctions, which is clearly understood by all. These effectively support the development of good behaviour.

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Commentary

11. The school takes care to ensure that all pupils are fully included in the life of the school. All staff work hard to promote good relationships within and outside classrooms, which results in the majority of pupils working and playing happily together. There was no evidence of bullying, and pupils are confident that their teachers would deal rigorously with any incidents if they did occur.

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Commentary

12. The school promotes pupils’ personal development well, and as a result, they have a good understanding of right and wrong. The teachers provide good role models with spiritual awareness being developed well in assemblies and religious education lessons. This is reflected in the Catholic ethos of the school.

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Commentary

13. Children in the reception class are well on course to meet the early learning goal in personal, social and emotional development.

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Attendance

Attendance is satisfactory and has improved. Punctuality is unsatisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Attendance has improved since the previous inspection. • A significant number of pupils do not arrive at school on time in the morning.

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Commentary

14. Pupils’ attendance is monitored well. Greater emphasis has been given to raising the parents’ awareness of the need for their children to attend school regularly. This has resulted in a steady increase in attendance levels and attendance is now satisfactory. However, punctuality at the start of the school day is unsatisfactory. There is no sense of urgency shown by many parents or pupils to arrive at school on time. Pupils’ lateness causes some disruption to the beginning of the school day. Although the school has recently introduced some measures to address this, not enough is being done.

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Commentary

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 5.3 School data 0.1 National data 5.4 National data 0.4 St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 12 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education is satisfactory . Effective teaching promotes good achievement. The curriculum is unsatisfactory, because the school does not teach the full National Curriculum in ICT. Pupils are provided with good enrichment as a result of a wide range of extra-curricular activities, visits and visitors. The quality of care, support and guidance is satisfactory but pupils’ views are insufficiently sought. The school’s resources and accommodation adequately support learning. The partnership with parents is unsatisfactory but good links with the church enhance pupil’s learning.

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Teaching and learning

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The quality of teachers’ assessments is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The quality of teaching in the nursery is consistently good. • There is some excellent mathematics teaching in Year 6. • Teachers form good relationships with pupils and manage their behaviour well, which results in pupils wanting to learn and work diligently and amicably. • Weaknesses in the reception teachers’ quality of planning and assessment mean that children do not make enough progress in some areas of their learning. • Teachers do not correct pupils’ mis-spelling of words rigorously enough nor encourage them to use dictionaries to help them to improve their spelling.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 31 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

1 (3%) 3 (10%) 15 (48%) 11 (36%) 1 (3 %) 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 where30 or more lessons are seen.

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Commentary

15. Teaching in the nursery is consistently good. Lessons are well planned with the tasks and activities set reflecting accurate assessments of children’s previous learning and progress. As a result, children achieve well in all areas of their learning.

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Commentary

16. In the reception classes, effective promotion of children’s personal, social and emotional development and of their basic language, literacy and numeracy skills ensures that children achieve well in these areas of their learning. However, weaknesses in planning activities and assessing children’s progress mean that the children in these classes do not always achieve as well as they should in their knowledge and understanding of the world or in their creative and physical development.

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Commentary

17. The quality of teaching in mathematics in Year 6 is excellent. It is exemplified by the quick pace, excellent subject knowledge, high quality questioning skills and rigorous expectations, which all contribute significantly to pupils’ good achievements. There is consistently good teaching of English and mathematics in Year 5 and of reading and writing in Year 2. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 13 18. Because teachers successfully establish good relationships with pupils and ensure that they behave sensibly, lessons are conducted in a positive and purposeful atmosphere. As a result, pupils enjoy their learning, are productive in the amount of work they complete and work diligently and amicably. It was noticeable that in many lessons, pupils worked happily in pairs or small groups, with very good concentration, even when not directly supervised.

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Commentary

19. The fact that teachers fail to correct pupils’ mis-spelling rigorously enough contributes directly to weaknesses in this area of pupils’ learning. Although staff follow the school policy of correcting only the mis-spelling of words that pupils’ frequently write, it is unacceptable that words which are copied incorrectly from the board or which are spelt differently in the same piece of work, go unchecked. During lessons observed, it was also noticeable that teachers rarely encouraged pupils to use dictionaries to aid or correct their spelling. The leadership and management of English need to be more focussed upon this aspect of teaching and learning.

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Commentary

20. The quality of teaching of pupils with special educational needs is good and enables them to make good progress in lessons. Learning support assistants, with responsibility for pupils with special educational needs, make a good contribution to their learning. Individual education plans are relevant to the pupils’ needs. Well-focused teaching in small groups develops pupils’ skills and self-confidence. The good support that pupils with statements of special educational need receive ensures that they are fully included in all aspects of learning. Pupils’ difficulties are identified at an early stage, but as yet, there are no formal identification procedures for pupils with special educational needs consistently applied across the school.

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Commentary

21. The quality of teachers’ assessments in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory. Apart from weaknesses relating to spelling, teachers mark work consistently and most provide helpful guidance for pupils about how they can improve their work. Teachers use their assessments of pupils’ work in English, mathematics and science satisfactorily to plan work to suitably match pupils’ needs and to set appropriate targets.

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The curriculum

The quality of the curriculum is unsatisfactory . However, opportunities for enrichment are good . There is a good range of extra-curricular activities overall. The accommodation and resources are satisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The ICT curriculum does not meet statutory requirements in Years 5 and 6. • A comprehensive overview has been introduced for the development, monitoring and review of all areas of the curriculum. • The school’s strategy for teaching numeracy has been successfully implemented. • Provision for personal, social and health education is good. • Planning in the reception classes fails to focus appropriately on the development of creative and physical skills. • Provision for outside play for children in the reception classes is unsatisfactory. • The inclusion of Spanish in the school curriculum is an added bonus.

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Commentary

22. Recently, a comprehensive curricular framework has been put into place that clearly establishes what should be taught, by whom and when, thus giving a more cohesive overview. Information communication technology provision has lacked clear leadership and direction over recent years and has not kept pace with modern developments. The shortage of appropriate software and reliable hardware have resulted in failure to meet requirements to teach the control and monitoring elements of the subject, especially in Years 5 and 6. Analysis of pupils’ work and displays around the school clearly reflect the unsatisfactory use of ICT to underpin skills across different subjects. However, with the proposed installation of an ICT suite within St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 14 the next few weeks, the subject should receive a higher profile than presently exists. The curriculum is generally inclusive, especially for pupils with special educational needs. The

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Commentary

curricular provision for pupils with special educational needs has improved since the last inspection and is now satisfactory. Pupils’ difficulties are identified informally at an early stage. Individual education plans are satisfactorily written and followed by the class teachers and teaching assistants. Good use is made of the specialist skills of staff from outside agencies.

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Commentary

23. There is a secure curriculum in the nursery, which is well-planned to cover all the areas of learning and to ensure a good balance between teacher directed activities and those chosen by the children. However, the curriculum in the reception classes is unsatisfactory. Currently, planning and teaching fail to fully meet the needs of the children in both the creative and physical aspects. Therefore, preparation for the National Curriculum in these areas fails to build successfully on previous learning.

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Commentary

24. The school’s numeracy strategy is good and this has a positive impact on raising standards. It provides a comprehensive plan for teaching and continuity of skills. Through activities undertaken in design and technology projects, such as making slippers in Year 6, pupils have applied their mathematical competencies through accurate measurements and, although not specially planned, numeracy skills are honed still further. Nevertheless, developing pupils’ numeracy skills through other subjects remains to be an area for continued improvement.

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Commentary

25. The school provides a good range of opportunities for pupils to have experiences outside the constraints of the curriculum, including Spanish, which is well taught and appreciated by pupils. There is a wide range of visits and visitors into the school, including residential visits for Years 3 to 6. There is also a good range of extra-curricular clubs, including a wide variety of well-organised sports, for boys and girls, and art and drama. All pupils benefit considerably from these experiences.

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Commentary

26. Pupils’ personal, social and health education are integral to the school’s work. Activities are carefully planned to promote pupils’ awareness of the need to eat healthily and of the dangers of mis-using drugs and of smoking. These involve members of the local community, such as the local health authority and police force. The school has also fostered good links with the local secondary school, for example the use of its ICT and sports facilities. This enhances the curriculum and prepares pupils adequately for the next stage in their education.

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Commentary

27. Learning resources for ICT are unsatisfactory. This is because there is too little software available to enable the National Curriculum requirements to be met in aspects of the curriculum for Years 5 and 6 pupils. As at the time of the last inspection, the outside facilities to promote children’s physical skills in the reception classes remain unsatisfactory. There are a few classrooms where space is restricted, particularly for the youngest pupils. By direct contrast, the large classrooms in Years 5 and 6 contribute very successfully to pupils’ learning by giving additional space for group activities and direct access to learning resources.

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Care, guidance and support

The school’s arrangements for pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety are satisfactory . Pupils receive satisfactory support, advice and guidance. Pupils’ involvement in the school’s work is unsatisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. • Not enough is done to involve pupils in the work and development of the school.

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Commentary

St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 15 28. Pupils say they enjoy school and feel safe and well cared for. They say teachers will help them with their work and that there is an adult they can talk to if they are unhappy. Pupils confirm they feel very well supported by the learning mentor and say she helps them when they are experiencing difficulties. Pupils’ work and effort is valued and celebrated and they appreciate this. Most pupils spoken to know that they have targets to achieve in literacy and numeracy. However, these are not always sufficiently discussed or reviewed with them. Because of this, not all pupils understand what they need to do to improve their work. Teachers monitor pupils’ personal development informally. However, in some classes pupils are involved in setting and reviewing their own personal goals for improvement with their teacher. Where this happens, it has a positive impact on pupils’ self- esteem and confidence. Recent improvements in the

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Commentary

arrangements for pupils with special educational needs means that these pupils receive the support and guidance they need. This enables them to achieve as well as their peers. Child protection procedures are effective and pupils are well cared for.

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Commentary

29. Staff follow the agreed policies and practices relating to health, safety and child protection, several of which have been introduced very recently. The governors, however, do not fulfil their duties in relation to monitoring these areas.

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Commentary

30. Parents believe that the staff encourage pupils to become mature and independent. Pupils say that teachers listen to, and value, what they have to say. There is no systematic means, however, to seek pupils’ views, such as a school council and there is no regular consultation by any other means. Because of this, the school is not able to take pupils’ views into account, where appropriate, when agreeing priorities for improvement.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

Links and liaison with the community, schools and other education providers are satisfactory . The school’s partnership with parents is unsatisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Parents have positive views of the school. • Insufficient information is provided for parents to enable them to support their children’s learning. • Not enough is done to encourage parents to become involved in school life. • There are strong links with the parish.

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Commentary

31. Very few parents attended the meeting prior to the inspection or returned the questionnaire. However, those who did are supportive of the school and can see its positive influence on their children’s learning. There are both formal and informal opportunities for parents to talk to teachers. Parents appreciate this and the fact that the school tries hard to deal with any suggestions or concerns as quickly as possible. They find the staff approachable. Links with the parents of pupils who have special educational needs are effective. They are invited to attend review meetings and can seek advice and support from the headteacher and from their children’s class teacher.

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Commentary

32. Parents give tremendous support to events that directly involve their children, such as the Christmas productions. The parents and teacher association (PTA) raises money that helps to subsidise educational visits. A few parents help in classrooms. Support for formal parents’ evenings is patchy. Although initiatives such as family learning “paired, shared writing” have recently been organised, the take-up of these opportunities has been very limited. The school has no regular means to gain the views of parents. As a result, it is not able to establish how satisfied parents are with what it provides or how parents might be helped to play a part in school life. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 16 33. Too little information is provided for parents about the school and what their children are learning. Whilst there is a satisfactory range of day-to-day information, nothing is provided about homework or what topics pupils will learn. Annual end-of-year reports are

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Commentary

unsatisfactory. The school is aware of this, and is in the process of agreeing a revised format for them. Both the school brochure and governors annual report to parents do not contain all the information they should. Currently, there is no effective partnership between the school and parents that will benefit pupils’ achievement, especially in encouraging better reading standards.

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Commentary

34. There are close links with the parish. Pupils visit the church regularly and take part in sacramental and parish events. This contributes well to their spiritual development. The nearby and extended community is used well to support and enrich pupils’ curricular experiences, for instance, for educational visits. There is satisfactory liaison with the local secondary school, for example, Year 6 pupils use the community learning centre and transition arrangements are adequate. Opportunities to strengthen links and liaison with neighbouring schools have not been available because the school did not become a member of the Education Action Zone (EAZ). Shared opportunities such as sporting events and summer schools for more-able pupils have, therefore, not been accessible to the school.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management of the school are both satisfactory . There is good leadership by the headteacher who is strong and purposeful. The quality of leadership and management of other key staff is satisfactory. There is effective teamwork and a shared commitment to improvement. However, some aspects of the school’s self evaluation and co-ordination are relatively weak. Despite recent improvements, governance is poor .

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

There is non-compliance with statutory requirements in that the full National Curriculum for ICT is not taught. There are omissions in the information governors are required to provide to parents in the Annual report to Parents and in the written end-of-year reports about pupils’ progress.

p.16

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Governors are insufficiently involved in monitoring the school’s standards and finances or in acting as a critical friend. • There is a strong sense of purpose and clarity of vision of the headteacher. • The leadership and management of the Foundation Stage and of ICT are unsatisfactory. • Key staff provide a good role model for other staff and pupils. • The current budget deficit is being well managed.

p.16

Commentary

35. The governors are not involved enough in overseeing the work of the school. Despite recent improvements, prompted by the new headteacher, governors still do not know enough about the school’s strengths and weaknesses in order to influence decisions about spending or priorities for development. Financial management procedures were not rigorous enough to identify the accounting error which caused an apparent generous underspend to turn into a serious overspend in the 2002-2003 school budget. Governors’ present lack of knowledge means that they are not in a position to effectively hold the school to account for the standards and quality of education. For instance, the full National Curriculum is still not being taught in ICT, nearly six years after the same weakness was brought to the governing body ‘s attention in the last inspection report.

p.16

Commentary

36. The headteacher, who has only been in post since September 2003, has a clear vision for the way the school needs to move forward in order for it to continue to improve. He has already taken effective action to improve the provision for pupils with special educational needs, to address the serious overspend he inherited and to advise the governors in ways in which they St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 17 should be more effective. The headteacher has redefined the roles and responsibilities of all staff, established much clearer procedures to evaluate pupils’ standards and achievements and created a more representative senior management team. Key staff report a new sense of purpose and energy as a result of these initiatives.

p.16

Commentary

37. Senior staff make a satisfactory contribution to the quality of the leadership and management of teaching, learning and the curriculum. Mathematics and science are well led and managed but there are weaknesses in the co-ordination of the provision in the reception classes and in ICT. The temporary assistant headteacher and other members of the newly created senior management team, provide effective support to the headteacher, particularly in promoting higher standards and in initiating more rigorous assessment procedures.

p.17

Commentary

38. The school’s parlous financial situation has been very well managed by the new headteacher. In partnership with the very recently created governors finance committee and the local education authority, a prudent financial plan has been drawn up. This itemises actions which will reduce the present large budget deficit to the satisfaction of the local education authority, with minimal impact on the pupils’ standards and quality of education.

p.17

Commentary

39. The long-term absences of staff have caused significant barriers to learning for pupils in the present Years 2 and 6 during the last academic year. The disruption has contributed to their currently attaining standards below those reflected in test results over the last few years especially in English and science. In addition, the long-term absence of the deputy headteacher has caused interruption to the smooth running of the school’s performance management procedures.

p.17

Financial information

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

p.17

Financial information

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£ Total income 544998 Balance from previous year 84029 Total expenditure 640148 Balance carried forward to the next -11120 Expenditure per pupil 2602 St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 18

p.17

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory .

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

40. Children enter the school with skills below those that would normally be expected, but often with poorly developed language skills. The provision in the nursery is good with children making good progress. Children’s assessments on entry to the reception class show that their attainment is generally in line with expectations for their age. In these classes, children achieve satisfactorily in personal and mathematical development, communication, language and literacy, and in their knowledge and understanding of the world. Most attain the goals set for them by the end of the reception year. However, children’s progress in their creative and physical development is limited, with only a few attaining the standards expected in these areas of learning.

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

41. The quality of teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, overall. There is always good teaching in the nursery, where the staff work well together. Good teaching and assessment ensure that the work is well matched to the needs of individual pupils and promotes good achievement for all groups of children. Teaching in the reception classes is satisfactory overall. The national frameworks are used appropriately for planning literacy and numeracy activities. However, planning for children’s creative and physical development is too general and do not provide a sharp enough focus on what children are expected to learn from the tasks and activities provided.

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

42. The nursery teacher leads and manages the unit well, ensuring that there is good planning and organisation across all areas of learning. Boys and girls of all abilities and from all groups have a rich variety of experiences and a good balance between directed activities and well-planned opportunities for play. Staff use the local education authority Foundation Stage profile to record children’s progress in each area of their learning . However, in the reception classes, teachers do not make effective use of assessment to identify what children know and understand in order to plan further learning. Co-ordination, therefore, which focuses mainly on the reception classes, is unsatisfactory.

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

43. The school has maintained the quality of its overall provision except in creative and physical development, which in the reception classes is not effective. The outdoor provision for the Foundation Stage children remains unsatisfactory.

p.18

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for personal, social and emotional development is good .

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• All staff are good role models and offer a high level of care. • Good teaching clearly establishes good routines and behaviour. • Children come happily to school, behave well and are eager to learn. • In the reception classes, children do not have enough time to plan their own learning.

p.18

Commentary

44. In the reception classes, the teaching assistant greets the children and takes the register, ensuring that they feel safe and secure at the beginning of the day. Children move from whole- class sessions to independent activities quickly and quietly. They co-operate well with each other, as was observed when a child made a ramp for a friend’s car. Children in the nursery St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 19 are encouraged to take on responsibilities such as ‘today’s helper’, to which they respond with great pride. For example, changing the days of the week on a chart or the symbol for the day’s weather. Children put on their coats and get dressed and undressed for physical education activities almost independently . In the reception classes, children are expected to take part in formal learning, which sometimes goes on for too long, restricting the amount of time for choosing and planning their own learning. Sensitive support ensures that children with special

p.18

Commentary

educational needs adapt to new routines and expectations a step at a time. The quality of teaching is good in the nursery and satisfactory in the reception classes. Most children are in line to achieve the targets set for them when they enter Year 1.

p.19

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision for communication, language and literacy is good .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Most children, when they start school, have little confidence in speaking clearly, which is an initial barrier to learning, but all staff in the nursery work constructively to address this. • The children have the skills they need to build on their reading and writing levels as soon as they start in Year 1.

p.19

Commentary

45. Given their low attainment on entry to the school, children’s overall achievements in this area of their learning are good. Children in the nursery make good progress and achieve well as a result of good teaching. The quality of teaching in the reception classes is satisfactory, ensuring that most pupils are on target to achieve the standards set for them by the time they enter Year 1.

p.19

Commentary

46. Good opportunities are provided to widen the children’s vocabulary. They enjoy listening to stories and joining in with the words of familiar rhymes and songs. In the nursery, children use language for a variety of purposes, both in directed activities and at play. In a music session they experimented with language, describing a crisp packet as ‘crunchy’ and ‘ twisting’.

p.19

Commentary

47. In the reception class, children’s early reading skills are developing well as they enthusiastically read a book with the teacher and learn the first sound of their name. In the nursery, children are taught to make marks on paper as they work independently in the writing corners, or in the ‘Doctors Surgery’. In the reception classes, the children practise writing their names on a regular basis and copy and trace patterns to develop their confidence and skills in pencil control.

p.19

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for mathematical development is good .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children’s achievement is good. • Nursery rhymes and songs are used well to reinforce learning.

p.19

Commentary

48. Pupils’ achievement in this area of their learning is good. The quality of teaching in the nursery is good and it is satisfactory in the reception classes. Most children are likely to attain the targets set for them in this area of learning by the time they enter Year 1. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 20 49. In the nursery, there is a good mathematical environment, and children are encouraged to recognise shape and colour in their work and play. Boys and girls enjoy singing nursery rhymes with numbers and learn well from these. In the reception classes, children enjoy singing ‘Ten Green Bottles’ when they learn to count forwards and backwards to ten. Elements of the National Numeracy Strategy are implemented in the reception classes, and the children respond well to the mental mathematics and oral part of the lessons. Children count confidently to 20 and the more-able children enjoy counting backwards. Children enjoy pulling

p.19

Commentary

shapes out of a box and recognise two and three-dimensional shapes. They are also suitably challenged to learn the correct mathematical vocabulary to describe the attributes of different shapes.

p.20

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision for knowledge and understanding of the world is satisfactory .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children achieve well in their learning about the world around them. • Good teaching in the nursery ensures that children have a well-balanced range of experiences. • Opportunities are unsatisfactory for children in the reception classes to explore and investigate.

p.20

Commentary

50. In the nursery, where teaching is of good quality, detailed planning makes it clear that there is good coverage of this area of the curriculum. The more-able children, when using the computer, quickly develop confidence in controlling the ‘mouse’ when importing and carefully matching shoes for the frog. In the reception classes, a broadening of children’s knowledge and understanding is achieved satisfactorily through suitably planned topics. Older children talked enthusiastically about the visit from the fire-fighters and how to keep safe. In the reception classes, although teaching is satisfactory overall, a lack of effective planning results in missed opportunities for children to explore, experiment and ask questions about why things happen. Most children are in line to achieve the target set for them by the time they enter Year 1.

p.20

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision for creative development is unsatisfactory .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Provision in the nursery is good. • There are limited opportunities in the reception classes for creative development.

p.20

Commentary

51. The quality of teaching in the nursery is good and children achieve well. However, aspects of teaching in the reception classes are unsatisfactory, limiting children’s progress and resulting in too few being in line to reach the targets set for them by the time they enter Year 1. Children in the nursery are given good opportunities to learn to play and name musical instruments. A good range of activities is provided to develop their own ideas and to discover and explore. These make a good contribution to their creative experiences. However, in the reception classes, the lack of effective planning results in the teachers missing opportunities to extend the children’s creative skills in other areas of learning. Children, therefore, are not given the chance to explore freely with colour, paint and materials. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 21

p.20

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for physical development is unsatisfactory .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Lack of outdoor equipment hinders the children in learning to climb, jump and balance. • Children use a range of small equipment and tools with some control.

p.21

Commentary

52. The quality of teaching in the nursery is good, promoting children’s good progress. However, some weaknesses in teaching and a lack of resources for the reception children, result in too few children being currently in line to reach the goals set for them by the end of the reception year. The children experience an appropriate range of activities to develop their skills in handling tools, construction toys and malleable materials. The Foundation Stage children have a planned time in the school hall for physical education. This gives them suitable opportunities to develop control over their bodies as they run, jump, skip, and hop. However, the outdoor provision is not used in a constructive way in the reception classes, to integrate learning effectively. There are missed opportunities for the older children to gain the benefits of working outside. There is a lack of suitable outdoor equipment to enable children to learn to move

p.21

Commentary

safely with growing confidence and to learn to control their bodies when balancing and climbing. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 22

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well, especially in Year 2. • Teaching is good overall and pupils learn to write for many different purposes. • Spelling is poor throughout the school. • Pupils’ speaking skills are underdeveloped.

p.22

Commentary

53. Test results over the last three years show that pupils in Year 2 attained average to above average standards in reading and writing. Year 6 pupils attained average standards three years ago and well below average standards last year and the year before. When standards over the last three years are compared with those of similar schools, they have been high or very high in Year 2 and generally average in Year 6. Test results and inspection evidence indicates that pupils consistently achieve well.

p.22

Commentary

54. In Year 2 currently, standards are broadly average in writing but below average in speaking and reading. In Year 6, standards in English are also below that expected. Both year groups contain a higher than average proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and both were subject to considerable disruption to their learning last year. However, current standards indicate that the school’s targets for this year’s national tests will be met and this will represent good achievement compared with the pupils’ prior attainment. In Year 2, higher relative standards reflect the school’s recent focus on improving writing.

p.22

Commentary

55. Despite teachers’ recent good efforts to address the issue, there remain weaknesses in many pupils’ ability to read fluently with expression. While more-able pupils respond well to punctuation, in order to read more fluently, average and below average readers tend to read words mechanically with little intonation. Less-able readers in all year groups have been taught letter sounds well, which enables them to read unfamiliar words accurately. Younger pupils use picture cues effectively to help them identify words they struggle over.

p.22

Commentary

56. Throughout the school, pupils’ spelling is poor, which is linked to a relative weakness in teaching. There are too many occasions when mis-spelling of words copied from the board or which have been previously spelt correctly in the same piece of work, go unchecked. Pupils are not encouraged to use dictionaries to check the words they have difficulty spelling. As a result, pupils have a careless attitude to their spelling and standards are not as high as they should be.

p.22

Commentary

57. Overall, teaching is good and pupils learn well. Teachers use the National Literacy Strategy well to help pupils write for a wide range of purposes. As a result, pupils write poems with a good understanding of metre and rhyme, using words creatively for humorous effect, compose letters of protest or to empathise with an evacuated child, write notes containing bullet points and create interesting legends when writing narratively. Well-prepared resources and apt teaching methods are used by staff to encourage pupils to create interesting characters for their stories. This was evident in a very good Year 6 lesson in which pupils worked enthusiastically and diligently to describe their fictional detective. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 23 58. Apart from in spelling, teachers assess pupils’ work satisfactorily. Marking is helpful and the effective and the regular use of the assessment of pupils’ work, linked to the targets they are

p.22

Commentary

set, contributes well to pupils’ good achievements. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported by the teaching assistants in lessons or when withdrawn for small group teaching. Such good provision enables them to achieve as well as their classmates. A session in a Year 3/ 4 poetry lesson exemplified this good practice, pupils achieving well as a result of the teaching assistants’ prompting, guidance and effective questioning.

p.23

Commentary

59. Because pupils are not always sufficiently encouraged to respond to questions in full sentences or to speak out as clearly as they might in front of the class, their speaking skills are barely satisfactory. This limits their ability to write more complex sentences, a weakness the school has picked up through its analysis of test data.

p.23

Commentary

60. The quality of leadership and management is satisfactory. The co-ordinator has worked successfully to implement and adapt the National Literacy Strategy to meet the needs of the school’s pupils, has provided support for colleagues and helpful advice on teaching and the use of suitable resources. A failing in the management of the subject is that too few lesson observations and too little analysis of pupils’ work have taken place, resulting in some of the weaknesses in pupils’ attainment not being sufficiently identified. Pupils use word processing and graphics programs to enhance their work and research information on the Internet, using ICT satisfactorily to support their learning. There have been satisfactory improvements made since the last inspection. Standards in Year 2 have improved more than in Year 6.

p.23

Language and literacy across the curriculum

61. Pupils’ literacy skills are used satisfactorily to support their learning in other subjects and to encourage pupils to apply practically what they learn in English lessons. For example, in lessons, pupils write notes in science, label diagrams and maps in geography and write letters in history.

p.23

SPANISH

62. Two lessons were observed and discussions took place with pupils and staff. However, there was insufficient evidence to make a secure judgement about the school’s provision in this subject. The lessons observed were of very good quality. The specialist teacher’s expertise was excellent and combined with enthusiasm for the language, resulted in the pupils learning very well. The school’s policy is to teach the subject purely orally and the result is that pupils participate very enthusiastically in question and answer sessions and in acting out conversations. In both lessons observed, pupils confidently counted, used first and third person tenses, named colours and animals and recognised that adjectives came after nouns in Spanish, rather than in front, as is the convention in English.

p.23

SPANISH

63. All pupils in Years 3 to 6 have weekly Spanish lessons. Teaching is shared between the class teacher, whose first language is Spanish, and a part-time teacher who is also Spanish. The high quality provision ensures that pupils achieve very well and greatly enjoy learning a language other than their own. Learning Spanish makes a significance contribution to pupils’ cultural development.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement is good. • The quality of teaching is good; consequently pupils learn well. • Boys and girls of all capabilities tend to make similar good progress over time in school. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 24 • Leadership and management are good. • Recent improvements in assessment procedures, including analysis of national tests, have given the school a more accurate picture of strengths and weaknesses. • The use of teaching assistants during the initial part of mathematics lessons needs greater focus to make this valuable resource even more effective. • Teachers fail to sufficiently develop pupils’ numeracy skills across other subjects. • There is insufficient use of ICT to support pupils’ learning in mathematics.

p.23

Commentary

64. The provision in mathematics is good, meeting the needs of pupils of all capabilities. When considering pupils’ below average levels of attainment on entry, the majority of pupils achieve well in Year 2 and Year 6 in relation to their prior levels of learning. There are encouraging signs that standards are on an upward trend supported by the good implementation of the national strategies which have positively influenced continuity of learning. In lessons observed, inspectors judged standards to be broadly in line with expectations in Year 6. The frequent turnover of key staff in previous years has had a direct influence on pupils’ numerical competence. Therefore, standards projected to be achieved in the 2004 national tests will not be as high as the 2003 test results. Classroom observations support this prediction. The provision made for pupils this year is of very high quality and consequently good achievement

p.24

Commentary

was observed. Standards achieved in the current Year 2 class are broadly average.

p.24

Commentary

65. The quality of teaching and learning is good. This is a good improvement since the last inspection. Most teachers clearly transmit their enthusiasm for the subject, and their good planning is reflected in the activities that capture pupils’ interest well. The teaching of basic skills is another strength and support staff play a valuable role in helping groups of pupils and individuals, such as those with special educational needs, to improve their levels of mathematical knowledge. As a result of recent monitoring and the good evaluation by the school, the need has rightly been identified to develop pupils’ oral mental mathematical skills. Subsequently, this initial part of lessons is carried out fairly briskly. However, questions that relate to everyday problems are rarely included during the ‘quick fire’ questions. Work to develop target setting and tracking systems to ensure all pupils make systematic advances in

p.24

Commentary

their work continues to be at an early stage of development. The regular planned sharing of these targets with parents also requires a higher priority to aid future achievement. In a number of lessons, the final session, during which there is further consolidation of skills, is often rushed due to limited time, so pupils do not get a chance to share what they have successfully learned with their peers. The planned use of ICT does not yet make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning. This was reflected very visibly in the analysis of pupils’ work and classroom displays, where it was noticeable by its absence.

p.24

Commentary

66. An enthusiastic strong subject leader is successfully moving the subject forward. The greater precision in test data analysis and the better evaluation of strengths and weaknesses have started to impact positively. The quality of teachers’ assessments is satisfactory. Marking is consistent, however, it often fails to indicate clearly to pupils how they can improve. The subject leader is aware of the need to monitor more rigorously strengths and weaknesses in teaching, the standards achieved and the rate of progress of pupils of different capabilities. Since the last inspection, provision has improved well, the best improvement being in Year 6.

p.24

Mathematics across the curriculum

67. Pupils satisfactorily use mathematics as part of their work in other subjects, thus developing an appreciation of the practical use of these skills. For example, graphs and tables when recording traffic flow at regular intervals outside the school. However, opportunities tend to be incidental rather than planned as part of ongoing mathematics topics. As such, opportunities are not yet sufficiently well developed across the curriculum. This remains an area for development. St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 25

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are below the national average but pupils’ achievement is good. • The quality of teaching is good and consequently pupils learn well. • The subject is led well by the co-ordinator who has good ideas for improvement. • Insufficient use is made of ICT. • There is inconsistent use of the assessment procedures to ensure that planned work challenges pupils of all abilities. • Planned opportunities for pupils to undertake and record their own scientific investigations are unsatisfactory.

p.25

Commentary

68. The provision for science is good, currently meeting the needs of all pupils. In lessons observed and analysis of pupils’ work, inspectors judged standards attained in the present Year 6 to be below expectations. This fails to reflect the broadly average standards achieved in the 2003 national tests. There is strong evidence to indicate that during their time in Year 5, the present Year 6 did not make sufficient progress due to many staffing changes. The provision made for them this year, by direct contrast, is of a higher quality and consistently good achievement was observed in lessons. Although standards are below the national average, a number of good initiatives have been put into place including the regular assessment of pupils’ learning.

p.25

Commentary

69. The quality of teaching and learning is good, with most teachers confident in their knowledge of the subject and, therefore, able to enthuse and interest their pupils. This good improvement in the quality of teaching since the last inspection continues to impact on raising standards. However, initial introductory sessions by teachers tend to be over long, thus reducing the time available for practical activities. There are two reasons why standards are not higher because of this good teaching. Recent changes to the curriculum, intended to help pupils to better apply their knowledge in scientific investigations, have had insufficient time to make a full impact on standards. The pupils’ limited speaking skills also hinder their progress in discussing the results of investigations and observations. Analysis of pupils’ work indicates that a systematic approach to investigative work is not yet fully in place. At present, insufficient use is made of

p.25

Commentary

ICT to support work in science. There is no evidence to indicate its use to measure or to monitor the results of experiments.

p.25

Commentary

70. Leadership is good and management satisfactory. The well-informed subject leader has monitored the quality of teaching across the school. As a result, there have been improvements in pupils’ achievements and the quality of teaching. Although the quality of management is satisfactory overall, more rigorous attention needs to be given to the achievement of different pupils and standards achieved. As well as putting an appropriate curriculum in place, satisfactory assessment systems have been developed. However, pupils have limited knowledge of what it is they know and what they still need to master to improve. Improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory.

p.25

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 26 • Standards in Year 5 and Year 6 are below expectations. • The number of computers and their availability is unsatisfactory. • Curriculum and assessment are unsatisfactory. • Pupils’ attitudes are good.

p.26

Commentary

71. At the time of the last inspection, standards in Year 2 were in line with national expectations but in Year 6 they were below that expectation. This is still the case, with pupils in the Years 1 and 2 achieving satisfactorily. Year 2 pupils’ word-processing skills and their use of graphics programs are in line with expectations and they enjoy using computers to enhance the quality of their writing, graphs and drawings.

p.26

Commentary

72. Standards in Years 5 and 6 are below expectations and pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory. Pupils attain expected standards in word processing, editing, importing graphics and combining text and graphics to create presentations. However, their skills in using a computer program to control or measure are well below expectations, because they are currently not taught these aspects of the subject. Pupils do not have enough access to e-mail, therefore, preventing them from becoming familiar with this method of communication. While standards in Years 3 to 6 have improved in several areas, weaknesses remain in those aspects identified in the last report nearly six years ago.

p.26

Commentary

73. All the observations, during the inspection, were of teaching by school staff to support learning in other subjects. The quality of this teaching was satisfactory. Pupils were enabled to find information on the Internet, to edit and import their work and to draw graphs and move objects from one place to another on the computer screen. Teachers and learning support assistants provided a suitable balance between telling pupils what to do and requiring them to find out for themselves. As a result, pupils were enthusiastic and prepared to experiment confidently with different techniques and functions. During the inspection, Year 6 pupils’ achievement in creating presentations was enhanced when they visited a nearby secondary school and were taught a stimulating lesson by a specialist ICT teacher. However, because there are several aspects of the curriculum in Years 5 and 6 not covered by the school and teachers fail to use

p.26

Commentary

ICT sufficient widely to support learning across the curriculum, teaching has to be judged to be unsatisfactory overall.

p.26

Commentary

74. An ICT suite is to be installed in the near future and promises to provide a much better range of resources and will enable teachers to teach whole class lessons. At the moment the quantity of resources is unsatisfactory. This contributes significantly to shortcomings in pupils’ standards and their curriculum. Overall, leadership and management are unsatisfactory. The subject co-ordinator shows a willingness to continue to improve the school’s provision, but has yet to exercise clear leadership or management. There are no assessment procedures to record what pupils can or cannot do, which would enable staff to plan further learning. It is also difficult for staff and pupils to track progress as there are no established routines to store completed work.

p.26

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

75. The use of ICT across the curriculum is unsatisfactory overall. In English, however, pupils use it satisfactorily to word-process and illustrate their text. The regular planned use of ICT to underpin skills in mathematics is unsatisfactory and it is used insufficiently to record data in science.

p.26

HUMANITIES

76. Because the school is subject to a separate inspection of its provision for religious education, no judgement is made in that subject in this report. One history lesson was observed and two geography lessons. Plans and photographic evidence were analysed and discussions held St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 27 with staff and pupils. With such limited evidence it was not possible to make a secure judgement about provision in either history or geography.

p.26

HUMANITIES

77. In geography , plans revealed that the school closely follows the curriculum recommended nationally. Pupils in the Year 1 lesson observed attained standards in line with expectations and were taught how to draw local features onto a map. Effective questioning and fieldwork promoted pupils’ good understanding of why traffic flows, outside the school, vary during the day. Some satisfactory use of ICT was made to enable pupils to map the school buildings and to locate new pedestrian crossings where they felt they would enhance safety the most. In the Year 2 lessons observed, good teaching encouraged pupils to use their own holiday experiences to discuss destinations and to identify different areas of the world.

p.27

HUMANITIES

78. In history, pupils in the Year 3 /4 class had satisfactory recall of events during Henry VIII’s reign, particularly his penchant for different wives and the conflict with the Church of Rome. Pupils enthusiastically used reference books and the Internet to research the different foods eaten by rich and poor families during this period. However, too few opportunities were provided in this otherwise satisfactory lesson, to encourage pupils to reflect on the significant differences between the variety of foods now available and the limitations caused by a lack of transport and information, 450 years ago. Visits out of school contribute well to pupils’ historical understanding. For example, the recent Year 2/ 3 class’s very enjoyable visit to Chester, as part of their study of the Romans, not only increased their historical knowledge but also promoted their personal, cultural and social development well.

p.27

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Art and design and music were not inspected

p.27

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

79. It was not possible to make a judgement on the quality of provision in design and technology due to insufficient evidence. Only one lesson was observed and there was limited evidence of work completed. From the few samples of work seen, there is evidence that the pupils’ skills in making products are below average.

p.27

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

80. The subject leader is aware of the need to fully implement national teaching programmes to successfully aid teachers’ planning and progression of skills throughout the school. At present the subject has a low status.

p.27

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

81. It is not possible to make a firm judgement about overall provision because only a limited number of lessons in Years 3 to 6 were observed. The majority of these lessons involved indoor games in the school hall, and swimming at the local sports centre. A number of games sessions observed at lunchtime were part of the extra-curricular activities provided by the school. From reviewing the planning, and discussions with pupils and teachers, it is evident that all the strands of the subject, including outdoor adventurous activities, are regularly taught. Pupils benefit from regular swimming sessions and records show that most are on track to meet requirements to swim 25 metres by the end of Year 6.

p.27

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

82. In the games lessons observed, pupils enjoyed the challenge of the activities planned. Pupils built on their skills satisfactorily. However, too few opportunities were provided by teachers to involve the pupils in evaluating their own performance and in discussing how it could be improved. In the lessons observed learning was satisfactory for the majority of pupils, including those with special educational needs. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 are regularly coached during extra- curricular games sessions that include football, cross country and tag rugby. In the extra- curricular badminton observed the majority of pupils made good progress in their striking skills. The school has rightly identified the need to improve teachers’ subject knowledge through St Ambrose Catholic Primary School - 28 further training, especially with the focus on improving pupils’ gymnastics capabilities. These activities contribute well to pupils’ personal, social and moral development because of the

p.27

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

strong emphasis on taking part and being part of a team. However, an overview of whole school strengths and areas for development is limited by a lack of systematic monitoring and evaluation. Present systems to assess pupils’ skills and development are unsatisfactory. Enthusiastic leadership of the subject and support from fellow staff have provided very good opportunities for competitive sports with local schools.

p.28

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

83. No lessons were observed during the inspection. Therefore, it is not possible to make an overall judgement about provision. Personal, social and health education are integral to the work of the school and does much to support its ethos. This area is a key part of the school’s overall ethos and is successful in assisting pupils’ overall development to maturity. The governing body has approved an appropriate policy for the teaching of sex and relationship education, and matters relating to health education are given considerable emphasis. Pupils talk with increasing confidence about the dangers of drug misuse and how to keep themselves safe. Aspects for personal and social education are integrated well into the curriculum for religious education. Through this programme, successful efforts are made to develop pupils’ self-esteem, to enrich their experiences and to develop them as capable, responsible people.

p.28

Inspection judgement Grade

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.29

Inspection judgement Grade

Overall standards achieved 4 Pupils’ achievement 3

p.29

Inspection judgement Grade

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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Inspection judgement Grade

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 5 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 3 Accommodation and resources 4 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 4 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 4 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 5 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 5 The quality of the school’s links with the community 4 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 4

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Inspection judgement Grade

The leadership and management of the school 4 The governance of the school 6 The leadership of the headteacher 3 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 4

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Inspection judgement Grade

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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