St Peter's Church of England Primary School

ST PETER’S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 16 th – 19 th October 2000

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ST PETER’S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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ST PETER’S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Muriel Street Rochdale Lancashire Postcode: OL16 5JQ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs P Richardson

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: December 1996 St Peter’s CE Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

D A Hill Registered inspector Information and communication technology Music Equal opportunities The characteristics and effectiveness of the school The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Teaching and learning Leadership and management J Baker Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development Pupils’ welfare, health and safety Partnership with parents and carers M Greenhalgh Team inspector Science Design and technology Religious education C Glenis Team inspector Geography History Special educational needs English as an additional language J Gold Team inspector English

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

P O’Connor Team inspector The Foundation Stage

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

A Williams Team inspector Mathematics Art and design Physical education Quality and range of opportunities for learning

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Bench Marque Limited National Westminster Bank Chambers Victoria Street Burnham-on-Sea Somerset TA8 1AN

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway St Peter’s CE Primary School - 5 London WC2B 6SE St Peter’s CE Primary School - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Peter’s CE (Controlled) Primary School and Nursery is situated on the eastern side of Rochdale about one mile from the town centre in an area of urban regeneration. There are 391 pupils on roll aged 3 to 11, including 39 part-time children in the nursery. The pupils are organised into thirteen single age classes and there are equal numbers of boys and girls. The school is bigger than other primary schools, the average size nationally being 226 pupils. There is approximately the same number of pupils on roll as at the last inspection. There is one intake per year; in the nursery children attend on a part-time basis, morning or afternoon. Many of the nursery children transfer to other schools at age four plus, while the reception class admits children from other nursery schools in addition to those from the nursery class. Overall attainment when pupils start in the nursery is well below that normally expected. The

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

attainment of the four-year-olds when starting reception is well below that normally found, especially in language development.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

There are 189 pupils with English as an additional language, of which 167 pupils are supported through the Ethnic Minorities and Traveller Achievement Grant. The percentage of pupils speaking English as an additional language is very high. Seventy-seven pupils are at an early stage of language acquisition. There are four languages other than English spoken by pupils in the school. These pupils are supported by a multi-lingual classroom assistant and a multi-lingual home-school liaison worker in the nursery and reception classes, by a full- time teacher in the infants and by the part-time co-ordinator in the juniors. There are 89 pupils on the register of pupils who have special educational needs. The percentage of these is above the national average. Sixty-six pupils are at an early stage of support and three pupils have statements of special educational need.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, 51 per cent, is well above the national average.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school has a mission statement which clearly states that the Christian foundation welcomes families of all faiths and cultures, teaching each to grow together in mutual understanding and respect while also providing a happy, secure, caring environment.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Since the last inspection, pupils are now taught in single age classes rather than in mixed- age classes. The school now has a two-form entry instead of one and a half, and two extra classrooms have been built to improve reception and infant provision.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

For pupils aged eleven at the end of the juniors, standards in English, mathematics and science are rising from being very low to below average. By the age of seven at the end of the infants, standards in reading are close to those found in similar schools, in writing they are lower than those expected and in mathematics they are better. Standards throughout the school are improving in art and music and, with the exception of information and communication technology, standards in all other subjects are in line with those expected. Pupils have good attitudes to school and are interested and involved in activities. Behaviour is good. The quality of teaching overall is satisfactory but there are some weaknesses. Teaching at the Foundation Stage is good. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory. Overall, the school is not as effective as expected and there are a number of weaknesses. It is giving unsatisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

St Peter’s CE Primary School - 8 What the school does well • Children get a good education in the nursery and reception class. • Pupils have good attitudes to school and behaviour is managed well. There is no evidence of bullying or racism. • Relationships between pupils and staff are good. • Provision for personal, health and social education is good. • Emphasis is placed on the moral and social development of pupils and they are taught effectively the difference between right and wrong.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Leadership by the headteacher, staff and governors is not ensuring a clear educational direction for the school. • Standards are low for pupils at the junior stage, especially in mathematics, and in English and science more able pupils do not attain standards of which they are capable. • The proportion of unsatisfactory teaching in the junior stage is high. • Standards in information and communication technology are low. • Attainment of infant and junior pupils throughout the school with English as an additional language is below what is expected. • Pupils with special educational needs are not making enough progress. • Parents’ involvement in the life and work of the school.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This school has serious weaknesses in that there are low standards of achievement, particularly in English, mathematics and science at the junior stage; there is unsatisfactory teaching in about one-quarter of lessons at the junior stage and the leadership and management are not providing clear educational direction in order to raise attainment.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

There has been insufficient improvement since the last inspection in 1996. The school’s aims have been revised to include the raising of academic attainment, but overall attainment has not risen significantly and teachers’ assessments of pupils at the end of the junior stage are not in close agreement with standards obtained by pupils in tests, being much lower. Assessments of pupils at the end of the infant stage are close to test results showing that, at this stage, teachers are more aware of standards expected, and this is an improvement. Targets are set and, in some classes, these are helping to raise standards but they are not applied consistently throughout the school. More regular testing has been introduced but it is too early to judge the effectiveness of this measure. Although a regular system of homework has been provided, it fails to follow national guidelines in amount and frequency. The key

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

issue relating to raising attainment in information and communication technology has not been addressed successfully, but reading, music and physical education have improved. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 9

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year-olds based on average scores in National Curriculum tests.

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

English E E E* E well above average above average A B mathematics E E E* E average below average C D science E E E* E well below average E

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STANDARDS

E* Very low - performance being in the lowest five per cent nationally.

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STANDARDS

The most recent year 2000 unconfirmed test results for pupils aged eleven indicate a rise in standards for English, mathematics and science. Too few pupils attain levels higher than the national average, but increasing numbers of pupils are attaining average levels. Targets set for the end of the junior stage in English and mathematics have been achieved. Standards are higher with pupils who spend the full four years in the juniors. Standards at the end of the Foundation Stage are good in mathematics and in line with those expected in language and literacy.

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STANDARDS

Standards in information and communication technology are below those normally expected for pupils at the end of both key stages. Standards in religious education are in line with those expected locally. Standards in art, design and technology, geography, music and physical education are in line with those expected nationally.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Pupils enjoy coming to school. They have good attitudes to learning and are proud of their work.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is good at all times, both in the classroom and around the school. Pupils respond well to discipline and are orderly when moving from their classroom to other areas of the school. There is no evidence of bullying or of aggressive behaviour.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Personal development is satisfactory and pupils willingly take on extra responsibility. Pupils are courteous, polite and friendly to each other and relationships with staff are good.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Some slight improvement since the last inspection but continues to be well below the national average. Poor attendance, through extended holidays of up to six weeks, has an adverse effect on attainment and progress of the pupils concerned.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Staff know their pupils and parents well and provide good support. Pupils learn together in a racially harmonious, tolerant and understanding atmosphere. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 10

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The unsatisfactory teaching with pupils in the juniors occurs principally in Year 3 and one class in Year 5. The good start the children make in the nursery and reception classes is satisfactorily built upon in the infants but this is not maintained in the juniors. In unsatisfactory lessons, planning is inadequate, there is poor understanding of the subject being taught and inappropriate teaching methods are being used. In a number of junior classes expectations are too low and there is a lack of challenge, especially for potentially higher attaining pupils. When teaching is good, teachers and support staff work well together to provide a challenging and stimulating curriculum. Throughout the school the basic skills of literacy and numeracy are taught satisfactorily. Fourteen per cent of lessons were good or very good and eleven per cent were unsatisfactory. Pupils’ learning is good with the under-fives, satisfactory

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

in the infants but in the juniors pupils do not make sufficient progress.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum offered to children in the nursery and reception classes is well planned and covers almost all aspects successfully. The curriculum offered to pupils aged five to eleven is unsatisfactory due to the poor opportunities offered through information and communication technology. There is a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy. Schemes of work are in place and reflect the requirements of the new curriculum.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs This is unsatisfactory, as the planned activities do not always relate to pupils’ learning needs. Identification, planning and assessment for these pupils do not focus sufficiently on enabling them to make progress. Insufficient time is allocated to meet the learning needs of these pupils.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language A strength of the school is the effort made to encourage partnership between home and school for these pupils. Ethnic minority teachers support pupils well, especially at the Foundation Stage, but support by class teachers for older pupils is not focused sufficiently on meeting needs.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development The personal, social and health needs of all pupils are being addressed well. There is good provision for the moral and social education of pupils and that for spiritual and cultural education is satisfactory.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The school takes good care of its pupils who enjoy coming to school. There are good procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development. Health and safety requirements are fully met.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents have positive views about the school, but information from the school to parents is unsatisfactory. Information is lacking about the general life of the school and how parents might support their children’s learning. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 11

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Day-to-day management of the school is satisfactory, but the leadership of the school does not provide clear educational direction for longer-term developments. The headteacher has been diverted from his primary role to enhance learning because of staff absence and social issues relating to pupils and parents.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors take a keen interest in the life of the school and many are frequent visitors. Some are able to provide valuable assistance to class teachers, for example in information and communication technology. The governing body fulfils its statutory requirements but does not actively promote strategies for raising achievement.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school analyses pupils’ achievements in English, mathematics and science well, but is not using this information sufficiently to raise attainment levels. Principles of best value are applied.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources The use of staff, accommodation and resources is satisfactory, although resources for information and communication technology are unsatisfactory. Staff new to the school are given extra support and are carefully inducted into the school. Classroom assistants make a positive contribution to learning.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Overall expenditure per pupil is above average but, in the last four years to 2000, standards have only risen recently and are still well below average. The school does not provide satisfactory value for money.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

• Their children like school. • The school expects pupils to work hard. • The school is well managed. • Children are making good progress. • The amount of homework. • A broader range of clubs and activities. • Behaviour in the school.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspection team does not support all of these views. Progress is good for the under- fives, is satisfactory for the infants but is unsatisfactory for the juniors. The team supports the views of parents who are not happy with the amount of homework set. The team believes there is a good standard of behaviour in the school. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 12

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The school’s results and achievements

1. In the 1999 tests for eleven-year-olds at the end of the junior stage of education, pupils attained standards in English, mathematics and science which were amongst the lowest five per cent of all schools. In comparison with schools with a similar proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, results were well below the average. The most recent year 2000 unconfirmed test results for pupils indicate a rise in standards in English, mathematics and science. In English and science, results appear to be below the average for all schools; in mathematics results are well below. The overall trend is that performance in mathematics has barely risen in the last two years, that falling standards in science since 1997 have been reversed in 2000 and that standards in English vary from year to year, being higher in 1998 than in 1996, 1997 and 1999. In 2000 the percentage of pupils attaining the nationally expected Level 4 or above in

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The school’s results and achievements

English rose to 55 per cent from 40 per cent in 1999. A key feature, however, is the very small percentage of pupils reaching the higher Level 5 or above in English and mathematics but not in science. In 2000, seven per cent attained the higher level in English, two per cent in mathematics and 17 per cent in science. Comparable figures for 1999 were five per cent in English, four per cent in mathematics and five per cent in science reaching the higher level. The science result is in line with that of similar schools. The school’s analysis of results shows that pupils who have spent at least four years in the school do better than the percentages for 1999/2000 suggest at Level 4. However, only two pupils from this group reached Level 5 in English and one in mathematics although six pupils attained the higher level in science. Over the last two years junior age pupils have been grouped by ability in English and mathematics but no

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The school’s results and achievements

analysis had been undertaken to determine if this organisation was making any difference to levels of attainment. However, a very useful analysis of English results has been carried out by the deputy headteacher with the result that pupils have been identified who would benefit from booster class work. Teacher absence in Year 6 has been high and there have been a number of staff changes at the junior stage and inevitably this has had a disruptive effect on learning.

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The school’s results and achievements

2. In 1999, national test results for seven-year-olds at the end of the infants were well below the national average in reading, writing and close to the national average in mathematics. In comparison with similar schools, reading results were broadly in line with the average, writing results were below the average and mathematics results were above the average. The results from 1996 to 1999 show an improvement in mathematics, an overall decline in writing but an improvement in reading up to 1998, after which there was a small decline in 1999. Inspection evidence from the scrutiny of work of current Year 3 pupils, that is those who took the test in 2000 at the end of the infant stage, and unconfirmed test results for that year, indicate improvement in reading from 62 per cent to 77 per cent and a small decline in mathematics from 90 per cent to 87 per cent. Further analysis shows a significant improvement in the number of pupils

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The school’s results and achievements

achieving Level 2 in writing. In science, teacher assessments overall give results which are well below the national average.

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The school’s results and achievements

3. Teacher assessments of pupils at the infant stage are close to test results. Teacher assessments of pupils aged eleven are considerably lower than test results and are a cause for concern. For example, in 1999 teacher assessments for this age group show 19 per cent of pupils reaching Level 4 or above in English against 39 per cent in test results, in mathematics 25 per cent against 40 per cent and in science 32 per cent against 49 per cent. Teacher assessments for the year 2000 also underestimate performance by over 10 per cent in English and science. The trend between 1996 and 1999 is for boys to perform better than girls at the junior stage. Broadly, girls’ progress St Peter’s CE Primary School - 13 is two terms behind boys, whose progress is two terms behind the national average. Thus girls make one year and one term less progress than average. Pupils aged seven are approximately two terms behind in reading, one term in writing and one term in

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The school’s results and achievements

mathematics. At this age there is little difference in performance between boys and girls. Inspection evidence is that pupils achieve satisfactorily by the end of the infant stage but that pupils under-achieve at the end of the juniors.

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The school’s results and achievements

4. In 1998 the school carried out some very useful analysis of test results of seven and eleven-year-old pupils, based on free school meals, special educational needs, pupils with English as a first language, attendance, time spent at the school, gender and family heritage. A set of recommendations and targets for action were produced with a principal recommendation that the analysis should be carried out annually in order to establish longer-term trends. This analysis has not been carried out with the result that hard evidence from the school is not available to explain fully the factors for low attainment. However, the trend for results of pupils at the end of the junior stage, based on the school’s average National Curriculum points for English mathematics and science, was broadly in line with the national trend from 1996 to 1999.

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The school’s results and achievements

5. The school’s targets for improvement have this year been exceeded in English and met in mathematics. Predicted targets for 2001 have recently been revised upwards and provide suitable challenge and show commitment to continuous improvement. In order to improve assessments, tests have been introduced in English and mathematics. Frequent spelling tests are given, a Literacy Key Words Test and a standardised reading test are now being used.

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The school’s results and achievements

6. The adoption of the literacy strategy has led to a clearly planned approach throughout the infant and junior stages. The school is working hard to improve reading and writing skills but there is a lack of accuracy in reading, in matching text to the reader’s needs, with many pupils being insufficiently challenged by the reading scheme books. Home- school reading records are not completed consistently by teachers, parents or pupils and a full picture of pupils’ achievements is not available. In writing, there is insufficient systematic use of dictionaries to aid correct spelling, and too few opportunities for junior pupils to extend their writing as much of the work is in the form of copy-writing and comprehension exercises, which involve little more than filling in blanks in sentences. Standards of handwriting are improving, as seen in the scrutiny of work, with the adoption of a uniform scheme, but a number of pupils fail to form correctly their

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The school’s results and achievements

letters. In the infants, writing standards are broadly satisfactory by the time the pupils are seven, but lower attaining pupils are given insufficient challenge in the tasks to enable them to make good progress. A good guide to pupils’ progress is the ‘Continuity Book’ which contains samples of pupils’ unaided writing but it is not sufficiently assessed to suggest a grade or ways in which the work could be improved.

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The school’s results and achievements

7. Throughout the school, pupils’ listening skills are good, with pupils paying careful attention to instructions or when listening to stories. Their speaking skills are not so well developed. Many pupils lack confidence to speak out in class and too many pupils are only able to answer questions with one word rather than in extended sentences. Pupils have few opportunities to practise speaking skills, although in some classes the use of time towards the end of the lesson for pupils to read out their work to the rest of the class is helping to improve speaking skills. Overall progress in English is unsatisfactory.

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The school’s results and achievements

8. Attainment in mathematics is in line with similar schools at the infant stage but is below in the juniors. The implementation of the numeracy strategy and the project ‘Improving Primary Mathematics’, is helping to raise standards compared with results in 1996. In the infants, pupils are developing greater confidence in mental arithmetic, although a number of Year 2 pupils still finds difficulty in mental calculations with tens and units. In the juniors, the school has emphasised the importance of improving mental calculation St Peter’s CE Primary School - 14 and pupils’ abilities are slowly improving in this aspect. Most learning takes place when lessons are planned along the lines of the National Numeracy Strategy or the Mathematics Project, with teachers telling pupils what they are expected to learn within a lesson.

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The school’s results and achievements

9. Attainment in science is well below average throughout the school. Most pupils make satisfactory progress in the infants but in the juniors most pupils make progress which is well below average. Throughout the school, more able pupils are not presented with sufficiently challenging tasks to enable them to make the progress of which they are capable. Teaching which is good with well-planned activities for pupils to find out for themselves the reasons for certain actions results in good progress being made, but pupils become bored when the work lacks sufficient challenge. Little training has been given to teachers to help them make their science lessons more stimulating.

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The school’s results and achievements

10. Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) are low in the infants and unsatisfactory in the juniors and have not improved since the last inspection. There is little use of ICT to enhance learning in other subjects and most pupils have poorly developed operational skills. The school is beginning to unify its ICT hardware provision and developments are in hand to improve learning through the adoption of a new scheme of work and to purchase relevant hardware and programs which link with work in other subjects. Staff are undertaking training which is increasing their expertise and the link with the Further Education College is proving beneficial in the provision of training facilities and expertise. Progress is better in the juniors as greater emphasis has been placed on the use of ICT at this stage.

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The school’s results and achievements

11. Standards in religious education are in line with those expected locally at the end of both the infant and junior stages. The locally agreed syllabus is used well to form a programme of work which is used consistently throughout the school and which enables all pupils to make at least satisfactory progress. By the end of their time in this school, pupils understand the differences and similarities of major religions and have learnt to respect others’ beliefs.

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The school’s results and achievements

12. Of the other subjects in the curriculum, standards throughout the school in art, design and technology, geography, physical education and music are in line with those expected nationally and pupils make satisfactory progress in these subjects with the exception of design and technology where progress is less than satisfactory at the end of the junior stage. There was insufficient evidence in history to make a judgement on standards and progress. Since the last inspection, standards have improved in music and in physical education.

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The school’s results and achievements

13. On entry into the nursery at three years of age, the majority of children’s attainments are well below those expected for their age. This is most evident in the area of English language development which is often poor. A significant percentage of pupils do not speak English as their first language. By the time they leave the nursery when they are four years of age, the standards achieved by the children are typical for their age. The children in nursery make good progress because the teaching, which is never less than satisfactory, is based on regular assessment of their needs. The nursery nurse and bilingual assistant also greatly enhance the quality of children’s learning. At the age of five many children leave the nursery for other schools. Therefore the reception classes admit children with a variety of pre-school experience. On entry into the reception classes at four years of age, the majority of children have lower assessment levels

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The school’s results and achievements

than the national and local authority average. In both classes the children make good progress and by the end of the Foundation Stage the majority of children exceed the expectations of the Early Learning Goals in mathematics and creative aspects. In language and literacy, personal, social and emotional development and physical development they achieve the expected standard. In knowledge and understanding of the world the children are below the expected standard for their age due to lack of St Peter’s CE Primary School - 15 opportunity to use information and communication technology.

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The school’s results and achievements

14. The attainment of pupils with special educational needs is below the national average because of the nature of their learning and behavioural needs. Pupils do not meet expectation in relation to their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) because teachers do not use these precisely enough in their planning. The achievement of pupils with special educational needs is unsatisfactory because the identification, planning and assessment for these pupils are not sufficient to enable them to make progress. The school has not maintained standards found during the last inspection.

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The school’s results and achievements

15. The attainment of junior pupils with English as an additional language is below what is expected and for infant pupils it is in line with the standards expected. Infant pupils make satisfactory progress but junior pupils make inconsistent progress in developing and using English. They are learning to take turns in conversation, can match pictures of objects beginning with the same letter or sound, can say what they are good at. Junior pupils can copy words or written language from prompt sheets. The oldest pupils spend time colouring or copying instead of focusing on language acquisition. Infant pupils are supported by a full-time teacher whereas junior pupils receive only part-time support. The progress of pupils with English as an additional language is limited by the fact that assessment and planning for these pupils are not clear enough, there is no firm basis from which to plan appropriate language learning opportunities,

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The school’s results and achievements

particularly when support staff are not present. Progress is less satisfactory than that found at the time of the last inspection. However, it should be noted that there is an increased number of these pupils on the special educational needs register.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Pupils like school, are keen to attend and take part enthusiastically in the extra- curricular activities provided. Their attitudes to learning are good which contributes positively to standards achieved. Most pupils are attentive, respond readily to questions, undertake tasks enthusiastically and are proud of their work. For example, in the assembly celebrating work carried out in ‘Book Week’ pupils were very keen to show their efforts.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Behaviour is good overall in the classroom, in assembly, in the dining room and when moving around the school. Pupils are aware of the high standards of behaviour expected and respond well to discipline, which in the main creates an orderly environment conducive to learning. However, in some lessons in the juniors where the quality of teaching was less than satisfactory, the behaviour of some pupils deteriorated and had an adverse effect on their learning.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. In the playground behaviour is good for both the infants and juniors during their playtimes. Both groups played harmoniously and lined up in an orderly manner when the bell rang for the end of play. There were no signs of any aggressive behaviour or any forms of oppressive behaviour anywhere in the school. There was one fixed-period exclusion in the 1999-2000 year, which was due to persistent, disruptive behaviour.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19. Pupils are friendly, courteous and polite to adults and show respect for other people’s property and the school. For example, the school is litter free and there are no signs of graffiti.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

20. Pupils’ personal development is satisfactory overall; they mature as expected as they progress through the school and willingly take on increasing responsibility. For example, the youngest pupils tidy up after themselves and take turns with classroom activities, such as taking the register to the office. Year 2 pupils take on the responsibility of keeping areas of the classroom tidy and Year 6 have whole-school responsibilities such as library monitors, door monitors and helping younger pupils in St Peter’s CE Primary School - 16 the dining room as well as helping reception pupils at playtime. Pupils also use their initiative in arranging their own fund-raising events such as toy sales, colouring competitions and charging for Mendhi patterns. However, there are limited opportunities for pupils to take initiatives themselves to improve their learning.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

21. Relationships between pupils are good. They work well together in the classroom when in pairs or groups and play together harmoniously. Also they celebrate others’ success and applaud spontaneously in assembly when awards are presented. Relationships between pupils and staff are also good and pupils are happy and confident in their relationships with other adults.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

22. Pupils have a good understanding of the impact of their action on others and show good respect for the feelings, values and beliefs of others. For example, all classes discuss and agree class rules and understand the reasons for having them. Awareness of the feelings, values and beliefs of others is developed through religious education and assembly. For example, in one assembly, pupils were captivated by the traditional dance performed by two Asian girls and applauded appreciatively at the end.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

23. Levels of attendance are well below the national average. Extended absence of up to six weeks by a number of pupils and persistent lateness have an adverse effect on the attainment and progress of the pupils concerned. Registration is carried out in accordance with statutory requirements.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

24. Since the last inspection, good attitudes to learning, good standards of behaviour and good relationships have been maintained. Attendance has improved a little but is still well below the national average.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

25. Pupils with special educational needs generally carry out activities well although some lack confidence and concentration. Their behaviour is generally good although a small minority of pupils with behavioural difficulties do not behave well in the unsatisfactory lessons seen in the juniors.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Teaching is broadly satisfactory throughout the school. It is better in the infants with 45 per cent being good or very good than in the juniors where 29 per cent of teaching is good or very good. Seventy-eight per cent of lessons seen were good or very good with the under-fives. All the unsatisfactory teaching occurred in the juniors. Of the 74 lessons seen, 46 per cent were good or very good and eleven per cent were unsatisfactory. These proportions are an improvement on those at the time of the last inspection. The strengths of teaching of basic skills and the management of pupils in the infants, outlined in the last report, have been maintained and improvement has been made in the teaching of music, but teaching of information and communication technology (ICT) remains weak with teachers lacking in basic ICT skills and knowledge.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. Teaching for children under five is good overall. Teachers and support staff work very well together to provide a challenging and stimulating curriculum. This has a very positive impact on children’s learning. Teachers plan thoroughly together, make good use of assessment and regularly evaluate their teaching. As a result learning activities are constantly building on what the children are achieving. The pace of teaching and learning is brisk.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

28. Teaching of pupils in the infants is at least satisfactory in most aspects of the work. Teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the curriculum is sound and they know their pupils well. The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are satisfactorily taught. In English, the literacy lessons are well planned with clear learning objectives, although the needs of the more able pupils are not always adequately addressed. Good attention St Peter’s CE Primary School - 17 is being paid to teaching pupils mental calculations, but expectations in nearly all subjects are pitched at the middle band of ability with more able pupils having insufficient to aim for. One unsatisfactory aspect of the teaching is that time is not always well used, too much being lost with lessons finishing early and starting late. In some classes in Year 2, too much time is devoted to tasks which contribute little to the learning, for example registration, collecting dinner money, lining up for assembly and

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

giving out books. The quality and use of marking is variable but in most classes it fails to give pupils a clear indication of how well they have achieved and what should be done to further progress. However, generally satisfactory teaching is enabling pupils to acquire a sound range of basic knowledge and skills. Discipline is good and pupils are kept working during the lessons in which they try hard to succeed.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

29. Teaching in the juniors does not always lead to gains in skills and in the acquisition of knowledge. One in four lessons were unsatisfactory. In these lessons, teachers show a lack of knowledge and understanding of the subject being taught, planning is inadequate, inappropriate teaching methods are used, for example whole-class lessons being given to pupils with a very wide ability range and the subject matter is not taught in a stimulating way. In a few lessons, the management of the behaviour of some pupils is weak. Throughout the junior stage, expectations are too low with the consequence that potentially higher attaining pupils are lacking in challenge. Lesson planning does not adequately take account of the needs of all pupils and many make insufficient progress. The written evaluation of literacy lessons, with few exceptions, is brief and does not aid the future planning in order to improve pupils’ performance. As

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

with the infants, time is not always used well, for example pupils are often not called on to work when registers are being taken. Often lessons finish unnecessarily early, especially at the end of the school day. Although homework is set according to the school policy, it is not having a marked impact on the learning, often involving trivial learning tasks. Parents’ responses to the questionnaire show that a number of them are unhappy at the insufficient amount of homework given.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

30. In the 46 per cent of lessons which are of good or very good quality throughout the school, particularly in reception, Years 1, 2 and 4, time and thought have been given to clear lesson planning with activities which are designed to challenge all pupils. Expectations are high of pupils’ work rate and of their progress in the acquisition of knowledge and skills. In these lessons, objectives are shared with the class and, at the end of the lesson, good quality questioning is used to evaluate progress made. This is then recorded and future lessons are amended to take account of the evaluations. The hallmark of such teaching is a quietly confident assured teaching method with the teacher having a very good grasp of the subjects.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

31. The quality of teaching has not improved significantly since the last inspection due to a variety of factors. Staff absence through illness has been high and a number of staff have resigned. One-third of the teachers have joined the school within the past year. At present, one teacher is on leave and two teachers are on long-term sick leave. In the last financial year, budget allocation by the governors and headteacher for staff development was low. For the current financial year this has been corrected, the budget having been doubled. The deputy headteacher has planned a series of staff development sessions designed to raise expertise, especially in the core subjects, and expectations.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

32. Work is displayed well throughout the school and care is taken to show quality work to good effect. Often, though, insufficient thought is given in explaining to pupils the reasons for the work on display. Some of the teachers’ displays do not provoke response from the pupils and therefore do not succeed in further stimulating the pupil into thoughtful reaction.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

33. All teachers, classroom assistants and nursery nurses support pupils with special St Peter’s CE Primary School - 18 educational needs satisfactorily in a general way in class. Support teachers frequently work well with pupils in small group sessions, they usually have good relationships with pupils, are positive and encouraging. Non-teaching assistants support individual pupils according to their statements of need. However the definition of pupils’ learning needs and the learning targets in pupils’ individual education plans (IEPs) are too vague to offer sufficiently detailed guidance to staff as to how best to plan and support pupils satisfactorily. Some IEPs do not state the pupils’ particular learning difficulty. Support staff and non-teaching assistants discuss their planning with class teachers but there is no formal recording or sharing of assessments to help devise future planning which

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

can result in allocating inappropriate and unchallenging work, even for small group sessions with support teachers. Teachers frequently match work to different learning levels within activities, for example simpler tasks, but not always to pupils’ needs. Some pupils who were given separate tuition in English were withdrawn from lessons, such as science and geography, and missed curriculum activities in these subjects. Support for pupils with special educational needs is less good than that found at the time of the last inspection.

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

34. The bi-lingual reception classroom assistant and home-school liaison worker use their knowledge of pupils’ home languages well to interpret or translate for pupils, families and the school to support pupils’ learning. Teachers, funded by the Ethnic Minorities and Traveller Achievement Grant (EMTAG), support infant and junior staff well in a general way. They reinforce teachers’ questioning, explain words or instructions and have good relationships with most pupils. Specialist support for pupils with English as an additional language is less satisfactory because the planning and assessment of these pupils is weak even for older pupils. In one special tuition session the support teacher questioned two of the four infant pupils well, exploring their understanding and use of English. When EMTAG staff are not present, there is very little difference from work planned for pupils with English as a first language. There are no references to

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

pupils with English as an additional language in teachers’ plans and there is little distinction made between pupils who have English as an additional language and those who have special educational needs. Class teachers do not take an active role in planning and supporting pupils with English as an additional language effectively. The standard of support has been broadly maintained since the last inspection.

p.18

PUPILS?

35. The curriculum for the Foundation Stage is good, for pupils in the infant stage it is satisfactory and in the junior stages it is unsatisfactory. The curriculum offered meets the statutory requirements, except in information and communication technology (ICT). It includes all subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. However, opportunities for pupils of infant and junior age to acquire the skills in ICT are unsatisfactory.

p.18

PUPILS?

36. The curriculum offered to children in the Foundation Stage is stimulating and varied and teachers offer a good range of learning opportunities. Teachers use well the curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage but are restricted in teaching about the world around them due to lack of ICT facilities.

p.18

PUPILS?

37. The curriculum for pupils in the junior and infant stages reflects the necessary priorities of improving English and mathematics. Both the National Literacy Strategy and the National Numeracy Strategy have been satisfactorily implemented. The school is one of a few countrywide using the Improving Primary Mathematics project, a nationally accepted implementation of the numeracy strategy. Currently this is used in Years 1-4 with plans to introduce it to Years 5-6. An emphasis on training and new teaching methods are helping to raise standards in literacy and numeracy. Time is allocated appropriately to each subject. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 19 38. Overall the school now has schemes of work for all subjects, which is an improvement from the last inspection. The school has adapted the exemplar schemes of work provided by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to support the implementation

p.18

PUPILS?

of the revised National Curriculum introduced in September 2000. These provide schemes for teachers from which to plan their lessons. For mathematics pupils are no longer arranged in ability groups across each year group in line with the rationale of the Improving Primary Mathematics project. The school makes good use of specialist teaching, for example in music where the teacher is acting as a teacher trainer and role model.

p.19

PUPILS?

39. The staff and a school governor provide a satisfactory range of extra-curricular opportunities. The clubs include football, percussion, knitting, choir, rounders and cricket. There are plans to develop a gymnastics club. There is little provision of extra- curricular activity for infant pupils. The choir sing in church on a regular basis but this precludes pupils who do not share the Christian faith from being choir members.

p.19

PUPILS?

40. Provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is good. The governors have decided that the school will not teach sex education although many issues related to this aspect are covered within the school’s science curriculum. Anti-drug education is covered within the science curriculum but this is enhanced by a visit of the ‘Life Education’ anti-drugs road-show. Classes have timetabled sessions for personal and social education and activities such as circle time and ‘child of the week’ where one pupil a week has positive comments written about them. This is developing pupils’ awareness of one another.

p.19

PUPILS?

41. The curricular opportunities offered to pupils with special educational needs are unsatisfactory as the activities do not always relate to their learning needs. If pupils are withdrawn from different subjects to concentrate on developing literacy or numeracy skills, there is little evidence that they will be given opportunities to catch up on the learning activities they have missed.

p.19

PUPILS?

42. The curriculum and learning opportunities offered to pupils with English as an additional language are unsatisfactory. Although most pupils have full access to the curriculum, when some pupils go on extended visits to other countries this limits pupils’ access to the whole curriculum. The possible positive learning opportunities offered by the visits are not reflected in schoolwork, although the reception classes are at the early stages of developing a booklet for children to take with them on these visits. This booklet encourages families to record their experiences but this is not continued at the infant and junior stages. Staff do not identify specific language needs or activities in their planning for pupils with English as an additional language.

p.19

PUPILS?

43. The overall provision for pupils’ spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory and for moral and social education it is good. Religious education gives pupils insights into the values and beliefs of several religions including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Christianity. Pupils’ spiritual development is nurtured through whole-school assemblies when pupils have the opportunity to reflect on moral and social issues. Pupils enjoy assemblies and listen carefully. They enjoy their singing, which is vibrant and uplifting.

p.19

PUPILS?

44. The provision for pupils’ moral development is good. The good relationships that exist and the good example set by those who work in the school, support pupils’ moral development. Staff reinforce rules which are clearly displayed in classrooms and are mostly consistently applied. The weekly achievement assembly makes a strong contribution to this aspect because pupils are rewarded for kindness, thinking of others before themselves and putting others’ welfare before their own. In this way pupils develop a good sense of right and wrong. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 20 45. The school provides good opportunities for pupils’ social development and the school’s expanding personal, social and health education work contributes to this. Staff form good relationships with pupils and the school’s range of extra-curricular activities gives pupils the chance to meet other pupils from different years, class groups and schools.

p.19

PUPILS?

Teachers routinely use pair and group work as effective teaching strategies, which encourage pupils to work well together and share ideas.

p.20

PUPILS?

46. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is satisfactory. There are opportunities in the curriculum to learn about the diversity and richness of their own and other cultures. In an assembly two pupils danced an Asian dance and the choir sang a well-known pop song. The school celebrates festivals from many cultures. Cultural development through music and art is, however, limited.

p.20

PUPILS?

47. The school maintains good links with the community. The choir sing in church and local visitors come to school, for example to assembly. There are links with the nearby garden centre and local heritage clubs give opportunities for some pupils to further develop their sporting skills.

p.20

PUPILS?

48. Relationships with partner institutions are good. The school maintains good links with the local secondary school and makes use of its facilities, for example the kiln, and has used their staff to organise staff training in physical education. The school is part of a cluster of schools that successfully bid for funding to improve pupils’ performance in mathematics, which involved pupils going to the town hall to receive award certificates.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

49. This is a very caring school which makes good provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety as well as providing good support for pupils’ personal development. This provision includes good child protection procedures, good procedures for promoting good behaviour and eliminating bullying and good procedures for promoting healthy and safe living and in a safe working environment.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

50. The good child protection procedures include keeping the school’s designated person up to date through regular training and ensuring that all staff are fully aware of the child protection procedures as well as their importance. Also, there is good liaison with support agencies.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

51. The good procedures for promoting positive behaviour and eliminating bullying include involving pupils in discussing and agreeing class rules as well as giving appropriate rewards for good behaviour. These include a variety of incentives within the classroom such as awarding ‘smiley faces’ and certificates to individuals as well as collecting marbles in a jar for whole-class rewards. In addition ‘courtesy’ awards are made in assembly each week to a pupil from each class as well as awards to classes for good playtime behaviour. These initiatives have a positive effect on promoting good behaviour.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

52. Procedures for monitoring and promoting regular attendance are good. Attendance and punctuality are carefully monitored and frequent unauthorised absence or lateness are followed up by the school and the Education Welfare Officer. Regular attendance is promoted strongly through various awards for good attendance including awarding weekly ‘Attendance Ted’ to the infant class and the ‘Attendance Cup’ to the junior class with the best attendance that week. However, despite every effort attendance continues to be below the national average largely due to the prolonged absence of pupils on extended holidays, often for six weeks or more.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

53. Procedures for ensuring a safe working environment are good. Health and safety St Peter’s CE Primary School - 21 inspections are carried out termly with any issues recorded and actioned with appropriate urgency. A full risk assessment exercise has been carried out for all areas of the school following local education authority guidelines and any concerns have been resolved satisfactorily.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

54. Pupils’ personal safety, personal hygiene and general well-being are well promoted in personal, health and social education lessons and through subjects in the curriculum. Also the police give talks on road safety and personal safety which are backed up by reminders in assembly on these matters before school holidays.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

55. Pupils receive good personal support and guidance which makes a positive contribution to their personal development. Pastoral care is the responsibility of class teachers who know their pupils and families well, are sensitive to their pupils’ needs and are thus able to provide good personal support and guidance. The good relationships between pupils and staff encourage pupils to raise any concerns they may have. Pupils’ personal development is monitored and recorded as they progress through the school and includes general, social and emotional development as well as attitudes to learning. This record, together with the discussions that class teachers have with the previous years’ teacher at the beginning of the academic year, helps continuity of pupils’ personal support and guidance.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

56. The criteria for identifying pupils with special educational needs are inadequate. Staff assess children using a narrow range of reading and spelling tests. There are no specific assessment criteria for numeracy, behaviour or other learning needs. There are no consistent day-to-day assessment strategies which enable teaching and non- teaching staff to plan the immediate future learning of pupils although the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) evaluates their special lessons. Staff discuss pupils informally but this does not feed into class planning effectively.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

57. The stages of the Code of Practice for pupils with special educational needs are implemented satisfactorily. Reviews of individual education programmes and support are not recorded well, many have not taken place apart from those for pupils having a statement of special educational need. Reviews are not dated in advance, over a suitable period of time, with too many planned for the same period, for example December 2000. There are good links with professionals from outside agencies who support the school effectively in monitoring the educational, behavioural and health requirements of pupils. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 22 58. Assessment was identified in the last inspection as one of the key issues. This has been partially rectified but day-to-day assessment remains weak. An audit of assessment practice has been carried out and a comprehensive and detailed school assessment policy has been drawn up by the co-ordinator. A policy for providing all

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

staff with long-term plans is in place and this should be completed by June 2001. There is long-term planning to address targets for further improvement.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

59. Medium-term plans have been scrutinised to look for ways in which assessment can be used to inform planning for school improvement. Teachers have been asked to provide long-term plans. These plans are to be examined and discussed by curriculum co-ordinators and all staff . Responsibility for implementing assessment and reporting is devolved to co-ordinators. The assessment co-ordinator (deputy headteacher) has been in post since September 1999 and has shown very good leadership in her time in post. She is effective in her role and has a good overview of this aspect of teaching.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

60. Assessment has been used effectively to identify pupils who need booster classes before eleven-year-olds take national tests. Assessment is also made of pupils who would benefit from the Additional Literacy Strategy, those who have difficulties with the basic skills on entry to school and those who need extra support because of general learning difficulties. This support has led to some improved attainment in National Curriculum English tests for seven and eleven-year-old pupils.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

61. All staff are involved in the process of setting targets for pupils, their classes and individual children. These targets are not sufficiently explicit throughout the school so that good practice is not readily disseminated.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

62. Day-to-day marking is weak. The senior management team collected in sets of literacy books from across the school in February 2000 to look specifically at marking. A good marking policy is in place, but marking is still inconsistent throughout the school. Pupils’ work is often marked with a tick or bland praise. In the best examples, work is commented on and the pupil is given a guide as to how to improve. In some classes literacy books have individual targets for improvement pasted in the inside cover. These provide a timely reminder to pupils of what needs to be improved.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

63. Since the last inspection, the good procedures for pupils’ personal support and guidance, promotion of pupils’ well-being and promotion of positive behaviour have been maintained. Procedures for promoting regular attendance and child protection procedures have both improved and are now good. However, some teachers’ knowledge of National Curriculum attainment levels is weak with the result that teacher assessments are inaccurate.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

64. The assessment of pupils who have English as an additional language is unsatisfactory. The co-ordinator for pupils with English as an additional language and the support teacher, funded through the Ethnic Minorities and Traveller Achievement Grant (EMTAG), have no ongoing records of attainment to enable them to monitor pupils’ progress in language development effectively. Currently there are no systems for support staff to share assessment information with teaching staff to inform planning for pupils’ language development. EMTAG staff assess language levels well once per year using language samples but this is insufficient to monitor progress effectively or to inform planning in the shorter term. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 23

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

65. The partnership with parents is unsatisfactory overall and does not have a significant impact on pupils’ attainment and progress. Parents are satisfied with almost all aspects of the school except they do not feel that their children are set sufficient amounts of homework. They are particularly satisfied with the fact that their children like school, the progress their children are making, standards of teaching, the expectation that their children should work hard to achieve their best and that the school helps their children to become mature and responsible.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

66. The inspection team does not support all of these views. Progress is good for the under-fives, is satisfactory for the infants but is unsatisfactory for the juniors. There are high expectations for the under-fives but not elsewhere and this has an adverse effect on progress and attainment. Teaching is satisfactory overall, being good for the under- fives, satisfactory for the infants and unsatisfactory in the juniors especially in Year 3 and a class in Year 5. However, the team does support the views of a significant number of parents who are not happy with the amount of homework their children are set. Homework is unsatisfactory overall. It is good for the infants but unsatisfactory for the juniors as it is insufficiently demanding and is not leading to gains in learning. The homework policy has not been fully implemented across the school and it does not follow the guidance from the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). The

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

purpose of homework is not clearly understood by parents or staff.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

67. Information to parents about the school is unsatisfactory overall. The prospectus and governors’ annual report to parents meet statutory requirements but provide limited information on all aspects of the school. There are no newsletters to parents so they have no information of the school’s successes on the sports field or awareness of the choir’s performance in public.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

68. Information to parents about the curriculum is also unsatisfactory. There is a brief statement in the prospectus, some communication with the parents of Year 2 and Year 6 pupils concerning supporting their children’s end of key stage tests but none elsewhere. This situation has an adverse effect on pupils’ learning since this lack of information does not enable parents to support their children’s learning. The school is aware that this is an area which is under-developed.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

69. Parents are satisfactorily informed about their children’s progress through consultation evening in the autumn and summer terms and annual reports which, although inconsistent in the information they offer, are adequate overall. The reports from some year groups do not comment on progress nor do they set individual targets for improvement. As a consequence not all parents know how to help their children improve; this has an adverse effect on the attainment and progress of the children concerned.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

70. Liaison with parents and carers of pupils with special educational needs is unsatisfactory. Parents and carers are not actively involved in developing individual education plans (IEPs). They can discuss issues with staff but staff do not carry out formal review meetings regularly, except for pupils with statements of special educational need. Parents and carers meet with, and speak to, staff including the non- teaching assistant informally but these meetings are not recorded. There is no accurate record of parents’ or carers’ concern and involvement in their children’s learning. The co-ordinator for pupils with special educational needs has developed good links with the secondary school. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 24 71. Despite the general lack of information to parents, some good links are forged through staff visits to pupils’ homes, a small number of parents and their children are helped

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

through the family literacy scheme and sewing classes help parents improve their skills as well as their English. A few parents provide valuable assistance and help with reading, others help on trips and also support the parent teachers’ association which raises valuable funds for the school. Parents also attend assemblies and school functions but numbers are variable. These various forms of parental involvement contribute positively to pupils’ progress and development.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

72. Multi-lingual assistants and the home-school liaison worker are available to interpret or translate for families with English as an additional language. The home-school liaison worker makes home visits on behalf of the school to encourage better partnership and to interpret if there are particular issues to discuss. These aspects are great strengths of the school. Staff, funded by the Ethnic Minorities and Traveller Achievement Grant, have general contact with parents and carers but there are few records of meetings with parents and carers of pupils with English as an additional language.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

73. The leadership by the headteacher is not ensuring a clear educational direction for the school. He has been diverted from his primary task of ensuring that teaching and learning lead to pupils making good progress, to deal mostly with social issues relating to the pupils and parents. In addition, there has been excessive teacher absence in the last two academic years with seven long-term absences and two of three weeks. These absences have severely affected the work of the school, including the work of the senior management team. Since the last inspection there have been two new deputy headteachers. Overall standards to 1999 have fallen, being very low in comparison with the national average.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

74. Of the key issues for action from the last report, targets have been set to improve test results but until this last year have been largely ineffective. A school assessment system has been introduced but systematic day-to-day checks on lesson objectives being met is followed by only a minority of teachers. Attainment in reading, music and physical education has been raised since 1996 but not in writing and information and communication technology. Homework is failing to raise standards. Thus, it must be concluded that the headteacher, senior management team and governors have not done enough to ensure sufficient improvement since the last inspection.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

75. Almost all staff have delegated responsibilities covering subjects of the curriculum and other aspects of work. Teachers’ planning is monitored by the deputy headteacher but the work of pupils is rarely scrutinised and observing and reporting on teaching has only been possible in a limited range of subjects, for example in English and mathematics, the outcome being that overall curriculum weaknesses and strengths have not been identified. All co-ordinators have similar job descriptions which do not highlight the main areas for attention in order to raise standards. For example, teacher assessments of pupils are well out of line with test results in the core subjects and this aspect has not been addressed adequately by co-ordinators or senior management. Optional tests have been introduced in the last academic year with a view to charting progress of pupils more accurately, particularly in mathematics. This has led to more accurate

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

target-setting to match the ability of the year group.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

76. The leadership and management of the provision for pupils with English as an additional language are satisfactory. The role is carried out on a part-time basis by a member of staff who is also expected to act as a support teacher for the majority of her allocated time. The co-ordinator is committed, knowledgeable, works hard and would welcome the opportunity to carry out her duties effectively, but there is insufficient time St Peter’s CE Primary School - 25 allocated to the role. There is no monitoring of the planning, assessment, teaching or withdrawal from lessons which limits the quality of the provision and progress of pupils with English as an additional language. The co-ordinator expresses concern, rightly, about supporting so many pupils with so few staff. The use and deployment of staff funded by the Ethnic Minorities and Traveller Achievement Grant (EMTAG) is not leading to improved performance and does not set targets for pupils who are

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

particularly at risk of under-achieving.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

77. The management of provision for pupils with special educational needs is unsatisfactory. The present special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) has been in post for approximately 18 months after a lack of continuity due to staff absence and turnover. She was unable to carry out her role effectively last year because of her two- term secondment to the local authority’s support services. She has commitment, works hard, is developing experience and qualifications for the role and would welcome the opportunity to carry out her duties satisfactorily. However, the time allocated for the management of the provision and progress of pupils with special educational needs is insufficient to enable her to do it effectively, particularly as she works for only part of the week and is expected to teach for the majority of that time. She has updated some documents, including the register of special educational needs, and supports teaching

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

and non-teaching staff informally. She has not been able to support all staff in developing accurate and helpful individual education plans (IEPs). There is no monitoring of the use of IEPs, day-to-day assessments or access to the full curriculum for pupils withdrawn from lessons. Staff appear unclear about the distinction between pupils who have English as an additional language and those who have a special educational need.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

78. The work of the governing body is satisfactory and it fulfils its statutory responsibilities well. Some governors are often in school observing the day-to-day life of the school and in assisting class teachers in their work. A few have been allocated responsibility, for example literacy or for an aspect of the school. A number of governors have expertise in ICT and this could help teachers to gain knowledge and understanding. They give good support and helpful advice when requested by the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Regular reports are given by the headteacher to the governing body and finance and staffing issues are discussed in full, but the governors are not proactive in promoting strategies for raising achievement levels and are not satisfactorily fulfilling their role of accountability for the provision of education.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

79. The school development plan is in two parts, general and curriculum. The general plan covers the period 1999-2000, the curriculum plan 1999-2001. By having two plans it is difficult to achieve a coherent view of the overall direction of the school. Further, the relative short-term nature of these plans gives no indication of thought being given to longer-term strategic developments, nor to making a sound analysis of the school’s financial resources for at least the next three years. Resource needs for the next few years have not been identified. The current plans, except for English, do not sufficiently focus on raising attainment, and costing of developments is weak. Most evaluations of developments are due to take place in February 2001, over a year later than many initiatives have commenced. Action to be taken to meet the school’s curriculum targets is unclear. In their present form the development plans do not provide sufficient

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

guidance to staff and governors as to priorities for school improvement and raising of achievement. Although all staff share a commitment to improve, and there is the capacity to succeed, they lack clear direction and guidance from the headteacher and senior management as to how to achieve this. Too often plans are changed, for example grouping by ability in mathematics and English was abandoned yet results improved. Decisions made by the headteacher and senior management team are unclear, allowing for misinterpretation and lead to a lack of continuity.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

80. Short-term financial control and administration are very good. Office information and St Peter’s CE Primary School - 26 communication technology is used effectively. A recent local authority audit report rates the administration of the budget as excellent. Last academic year’s budget deficit has been cleared and a small contingency sum is included for this year. The governing body and the senior management team receive from the local education authority regular expenditure statements, which gives them the opportunity to carry out close monitoring of the budget. Day-to-day administration is carried out effectively and efficiently by well-qualified staff. First impressions given to visitors are very good provided by the welcome from the secretary.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

81. The standards fund is managed carefully but the funding for pupils with special educational needs and pupils with English as an additional language is being used less effectively since these pupils do not make satisfactory progress.

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

82. There are sufficient qualified and experienced teachers in the school. Most, but not all, have additional responsibilities over and above their classroom duties. Staff new to the school are properly inducted and given extra support. Support staff carry out their duties very effectively and make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning, throughout the school. Training priorities are well identified.

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

83. Accommodation is good overall and gives the opportunity for the curriculum to be delivered effectively. Classroom space is comfortably adequate for the number on roll with classrooms having shared activity areas which are used well for teaching small groups of pupils. However, some of the toilet areas for boys adjacent to the classrooms lack privacy. The accommodation, built in 1999, for the reception class is excellent but there is no enclosed outside play area for the under-fives. However, the school does have plans to rectify this shortcoming. Nursery accommodation is adequate but has the inherent shortcomings of a temporary building, namely a leaky roof and uncomfortably high temperatures on sunny summer days. The grounds provide good facilities for recreation and outdoor physical education, as well as including an environmental area. Displays in classrooms and around the school are good overall and create a

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

stimulating environment conducive to learning.

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

84. Resources for learning are satisfactory overall. They are good in music, religious education and for the Foundation Stage and make a positive contribution to the quality of education provided in these areas. Resources are unsatisfactory in ICT and, as a consequence, the school fails to deliver the curriculum effectively in this subject. The library, although well laid out, has insufficient books to develop pupils’ reading skills and to support other subjects effectively which has an adverse effect on the standards achieved.

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

85. The school is now beginning to apply principles of best value to its use of resources through assessing the effectiveness of deployment, questioning the cost effectiveness of decisions and other measures. The overall expenditure per pupil is above average but standards in English, mathematics and science have risen only slightly and are still well below average, therefore the school is giving unsatisfactory value for money. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 27

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) The headteacher, senior management and governors should develop a detailed long-term strategic plan for the school by: - closely monitoring and evaluating the school’s performance; - carefully analysing the effects of developments on pupils’ learning; - being proactive in longer-term initiatives and developments; - linking all developments to financial implications; - enabling all governors to link with subject co-ordinators in school improvement issues; - establishing a corporate view held by all, including parents, as to how standards are to be raised; - regularly providing written reports and evidence to all concerned on progress in raising attainment levels. (Paragraphs: 4, 65, 67, 68, 73, 74, 75, 78, 79, 123, 139, 161, 165)

p.27

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve standards in mathematics, and in English and science for more able pupils by: - raising levels of expectation as to what these pupils are capable of; - implementing rigorously the numeracy strategy and the Improving Primary Mathematics Project; - developing teachers’ knowledge and understanding of National Curriculum levels of attainment in English, mathematics and science in order to improve assessment through the use of exemplars of pupils’ work; - setting homework which will demand more of the pupils in these subjects; - informing parents of what pupils at this age should know and understand and building up a partnership with parents to support their children’s learning; - enlisting the aid of outside agencies to develop the teaching in these subjects. (Paragraphs: 1, 6, 8, 66, 67, 74, 75, 101, 102, 105, 106, 115, 120, 121, 153)

p.27

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Raise the standard of teaching, particularly in the juniors by: - insisting teachers plan carefully with objectives which are interesting and engaging to all pupils; - raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of and of their work rate; - using time more effectively so that time is not lost in menial tasks; - ensuring training opportunities are more effectively used and that dissemination of training takes place regularly at staff meetings, to which all are expected to attend; - regularly marking pupils’ work and giving pupils helpful written advice on how their work might be improved further; - using subject co-ordinators to demonstrate methods which successfully inspire pupils. (Paragraphs: 26, 29, 62, 75, 28, 121, 153) St Peter’s CE Primary School - 28 (4) Urgently raise standards in information and communication technology throughout the school by: - raising teachers’ level of expertise in this subject;

p.27

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

- working towards the provision of a uniform system of hardware; - making available programs which are designed to further learning in all subjects; - introduce pupil portfolios and keep a clear record of pupils’ achievements in the subject; - using computers to assist learning in subjects across the curriculum; - timetabling regular lessons in information and communication technology for all pupils. (Paragraphs: 10, 35, 141, 142, 144, 145)

p.28

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(5) Raise levels of attainment of pupils with English as an additional language by: - targeting clearly the acquisition of language; - assessing the need of these pupils frequently and keeping ongoing records of attainment to enable pupils’ progress in language development to be more effectively monitored; - planning work specifically to meet the needs of these pupils; - making sure pupils do not miss important curriculum opportunities when they are withdrawn from normal class activities for extra tuition. (Paragraphs: 76, 15, 34, 64, 42)

p.28

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(6) Enable pupils with special educational needs to make more progress by insisting that: - class teachers are more precise when planning work in relation to pupils’ individual education plans; - identifying, planning and assessing carefully the progress being made by these pupils; - seeking ways of developing the role of the special educational needs co-ordinator by setting time aside for the proper management of the provision for these pupils; - liaising regularly with parents. (Paragraphs: 14, 77, 33, 41, 70)

p.28

Other weaknesses

• Make arrangements to allow subject co-ordinators to evaluate and report on teaching in their subjects. (Paragraphs: 75, 116, 123, 129, 139, 161, 165)

p.28

Other weaknesses

• Improve the boys’ toilets adjacent to classrooms to give greater privacy. (Paragraph: 83)

p.28

Other weaknesses

• Nursery accommodation is unsatisfactory, with a leaking roof and play space which is restricted as it is used also by reception pupils. (Paragraph: 83)

p.28

Other weaknesses

• Improve the range of library books to develop reading skills. (Paragraph: 84) St Peter’s CE Primary School - 29

p.28

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 27

p.29

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.29

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 20 371

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 210

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 6

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 1 88

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 189

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 35

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 39

p.29

Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

p.29

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 30

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 1999 30 30 60

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 18 20 26 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 16 20 25

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 57 (59) 67 (72) 85 (82) at NC level 2 or above National 82 (80) 83 (81) 87 (84)

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 20 28 25 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 19 26 21

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 65 (72) 90 (81) 77 (79) at NC level 2 or above National 82 (80) 86 (85) 87 (86)

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 1999 33 24 57

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 11 14 19 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 11 9 9

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 39 (41) 40 (41) 49 (51) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (65) 69 (59) 78 (69)

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 6 9 15 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 5 5 3

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 19 (41) 25 (51) 32 (53) at NC level 4 or above National 68 (65) 69 (65) 75 (71)

p.30

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 31

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage Black – Caribbean heritage

p.31

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage Black – African heritage

p.31

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group Other minority ethnic groups

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 15 Financial year 1999/00

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 26.5

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 661,066

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 6 Expenditure per pupil 1,749

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 162 Balance brought forward from previous year 3,222

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year -6,548

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 35

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 32

p.31

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 52 43 3 0 2

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 51 30 7 2 10

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 33 43 8 6 10

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 53 37 6 1 3

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 65 27 4 0 4

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 61 39 0 0 1

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 49 44 4 0 3

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 54 39 1 0 7

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 50 43 2 0 6

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 36 43 7 3 12

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

No other issues were raised by parents. The few parents who gave written information were very supportive of the school. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 33

p.32

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

86. The quality of teaching in both reception classes is always good and sometimes very good. There is excellent co-operation between teachers and support staff that provides children with consistency in what is expected of them and the methods by which they are taught. Both teachers have a very good knowledge of the learning goals and both provide a challenging curriculum within a very supportive, caring and stimulating environment. The Foundation Stage co-ordinator is extremely effective in her role and ensures continuity of planning, assessment and progress. She has already identified appropriate areas for further development in the early years development plan. The staff are highly committed to providing a rich variety of learning opportunities for the children in their care. All staff work well as a team. The planning and assessment is very thorough resulting in good quality teaching. The department is led by a strong co-

p.33

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

ordinator with vision and a thorough understanding of the early learning goals. The children settle quickly in the reception class and enjoy coming to school. Support for children with English as an additional language is good. The quality of provision, reported at the time of the last inspection, has been maintained.

p.33

Personal, social and emotional development

87. In both nursery and reception children play together well. They learn to take turns, demonstrate self-control and develop good listening skills. The reception classes make excellent use of group time when they pass round a box to develop children’s listening skills and ability to take turns. They are only allowed to speak when the box is in their hand. In both nursery and reception classes children co-operate well when playing in the construction areas, in sand and role-play. The interaction between pupils is particularly good in both reception classes. This is because the teachers have spent time with the children in each of these areas encouraging imaginative play and dialogue. In the nursery a significant number of children can sing independently and in the reception class the children are able to talk with confidence, for example about their favourite food. In both nursery and reception classes the children respond immediately

p.33

Personal, social and emotional development

when the teachers tell them to listen and tidy away. Teaching of this aspect is good.

p.33

Communication, language and literacy

88. Children make good progress in language and literacy in the nursery. They are able to enjoy stories and recall facts from the Gingerbread Man. The bilingual assistant gives good support to children for whom English is not the language spoken at home. They are able to handle books with care and talk about the pictures to adult helpers. By the time they are five many are able to write their own names and copy simple words. The nursery nurses make an invaluable contribution to language development as they use every available opportunity to pose open-ended questions to the children. Children in both reception classes make good progress in language and literacy, due to good teaching which takes account of individual needs. They are able to follow the direction of print and read with the teacher from the big books. They recognise characters from the stories and some are beginning to identify initial sounds. Most children have good

p.33

Communication, language and literacy

pencil control and there is a planned, systematic approach to the teaching of phonics and writing skills. The support given to children with special educational needs is satisfactory. Teaching is never less than good in both classes. By the end of the Foundation Stage at five years of age, the majority of children are in line to attain the early learning goals in language and literacy.

p.33

Mathematical development

St Peter’s CE Primary School - 34 89. Children in the nursery make good progress in mathematical development. They count out ten beads for a piece of string and the teacher uses milk time as an opportunity for the children to count out the number of bottles. The children are able to identify shapes on the walk to the nature reserve and discuss the length of various objects with the nursery nurse. The teacher and support staff develop number and shape at every opportunity and, through the good teaching, by the age of five the children are exceeding the early learning goals in mathematical development.

p.34

Mathematical development

90. Children in both reception classes continue to make good progress in mathematical development. In both classes good teaching has a positive impact on learning. The children can sort shapes into sets recognising that one particular shape does not fit into any of the sets. They can subtract from ten using visual clues. More able children are set appropriate challenges whilst extra support is given to less able children. The children identify shapes and the number on the die. By the end of the Foundation Stage the majority of children exceed the early learning goals in mathematical development.

p.34

Knowledge and understanding of the world

91. Children in the nursery are unable to use information and communication technology to support their learning, there being no machines available. Consequently attainment is below that typical for their age in knowledge and understanding of the world. In the other areas of knowledge and understanding progress is good. They are able to comment on the colour of the autumn leaves and the smell of lavender. They have access to a wide variety of resources and recognise their appropriateness for various activities. The teaching of knowledge and understanding of the world in nursery is good apart from information and communication technology which is poor.

p.34

Knowledge and understanding of the world

92. In both reception classes children attain standards below those typical by the age of five. They have no access to information and communication technology or programmable toys to support their learning. In other aspects of knowledge and understanding children make good progress. They are able to use mirrors to describe facial features and express preferences about certain foods. Teaching in both reception classes is good apart from information and communication technology which is very poorly resourced. In all other aspects of knowledge and understanding thorough planning with clear learning objectives enable children to discover and extend their knowledge.

p.34

Creative development

93. Children in the nursery make good progress in their creative development. They are skilful in finger painting and can sing songs and nursery rhymes tunefully. The teaching of creative development is good. The nursery nurse has a very good impact on the development of the exploration of sound. By the time they leave the nursery children attain standards in creative development which are higher than those typical for their age.

p.34

Creative development

94. In both reception classes the teaching of creative development is very good. Children are able to recognise primary and many secondary colours. They demonstrate a high standard of role-play as a result of excellent modelling by the staff. The provision for role-play is very good. The children are able to draw plans to accompany their imaginative play. By the age of five children attain standards in creative development which are higher than those of the average five-year-old. This is due to very good subject knowledge by the staff of the opportunities which young children need to develop their creative abilities. The planning and assessment procedures are very thorough and have a very good impact on the standard of learning.

p.34

Physical development

St Peter’s CE Primary School - 35 95. By the time the children leave the nursery the attainment in physical development is in line with the early learning goals. They demonstrate control and co-ordination on the climbing frame and on tricycles. Teaching is satisfactory but could be further enhanced by providing a more stimulating environment for outdoor play. The children also need to be given more access to outdoor play than that which is currently available. The reception teachers have to use the nursery play area, this restricting the use of this space by nursery children.

p.35

Physical development

96. In the reception classes the teachers try hard to create a stimulating environment for outdoor play within the confines of the resources currently available. The children are able to ride tricycles weaving in and out of cones and use a den constructed by the staff to develop skills in climbing underneath objects. The teaching is satisfactory and by the age of five the children attain standards in physical development which are in line with the early learning goals.

p.35

ENGLISH

97. Analysis of the end of the junior stage test scores indicates that, although standards of English are below the national average, there has been an improvement on the number of pupils reaching the expected level (Level 4). When compared with similar schools, despite improvements, results still indicate underachievement in English, especially at the higher Level 5. This is in line with the results at the time of the last inspection.

p.35

ENGLISH

98. Results of the tests at the end of the infant stage in 1999, indicate that, although standards of English are below the national average, there has been a good improvement in the number of pupils reaching the average Level 2B. There are an increasing number who reach Levels 2A and 3 in reading but few pupils (13 per cent) reach Level 2A in writing and none reach Level 3. This does not compare well with other schools and suggests that insufficient attention is being paid especially to the needs of more able pupils, as was the case at the last inspection. Overall standards in the infants and juniors are unsatisfactory.

p.35

ENGLISH

99. Since the last inspection, the introduction of the literacy strategy has led to a cohesive planned approach to this subject although there is a lack of consistency in attention to reading and extended writing across the curriculum. Literacy lessons have been monitored by the headteacher and co-ordinator, pupils’ progress tracked on a general level, and activities planned across age groups which have contributed to the raising of standards. Nevertheless, match of written work and reading does not provide sufficient challenge to most pupils. Literacy is making little contribution to other subjects.

p.35

ENGLISH

100. Throughout the school, standards in listening are good. Most pupils listen carefully in a range of settings, including whole-school assemblies. In class they invariably listen well to instructions and respond well. Pupils generally focus their attention well on the work. However, where pupils were insufficiently challenged, they were easily distracted, being unenthusiastic and unresponsive.

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ENGLISH

101. Speaking skills are less well developed than listening skills in both the infants and the juniors. A few children have a well-developed vocabulary and express their ideas fluently. Good oral work on poetry in a Year 4 class led to well-formulated responses but other pupils have more limited skills, answering questions with single words or short sentences and appear reluctant to speak to a wider audience. There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to speak more formally to a wider audience. In a whole-school assembly to celebrate Book Week, Year 6 made a very good attempt at choral speaking, reciting ‘The Lion and Albert’ with enthusiasm, good expression and dynamics. Good opportunities for discussion were created in a Year 4 class discussion of Islam and the role of the Imam where pupils were able to contribute their own St Peter’s CE Primary School - 36 experiences. In an infant class where ‘My Muslim Faith’ was being studied the teacher

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ENGLISH

used real artefacts, a prayer mat, special dresses for Eid, and examples from the pupils’ own collections. In this lesson well-focused questioning elicited good short answers, but these responses were rarely elaborated.

p.36

ENGLISH

102. Pupils’ attainments in reading are below national expectations at the end of both stages. By Year 6 higher attaining pupils are enthusiastic and confident readers, often regularly using the school and the public library. They have well-developed skills and are able to interpret the text at a level beyond the literal. They are able to talk knowledgeably about their favourite authors and how they make their choice of books, for example by reading reviews. Other pupils, including some with English as an additional language, have good skills at decoding the words but find some vocabulary difficult to comprehend. Pupils of average attainment have an insufficient understanding of punctuation conventions in text and do not use expression in their reading. Throughout the juniors pupils were developing library skills and treating books with care. Year 6 pupils use the library sensibly and to good effect. They know the

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ENGLISH

difference between fiction and non-fiction. They are able to use a glossary, an index and a table of contents and are able to locate books through the school library’s Dewey classification system effectively. However, a significant proportion of pupils, many of whom have special needs, do not make sufficient progress. The school’s arrangements for reading practice and guided reading do not give them enough opportunity to build systematically on what they already know, understand and can do. A significant proportion of average and above average pupils, including pupils for whom English is an additional language, are insufficiently challenged with the school reading scheme books, the policy being that every pupil reads all the reading scheme books. The agreed home-school reading records which give a more complete picture of the children as ‘readers’ are not completed consistently throughout the school and

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ENGLISH

annotated with teacher comment to help pupils to make progress. The school is aware of the extent and nature of reading difficulties and is using the Additional Literacy Strategy to help some pupils. At present most junior pupils are not accessing the Internet to practise advanced reading skills. The Additional Literacy Strategy nursery nurse works with groups of targeted children in the lower juniors and is successfully aiding the acquisition of reading skills.

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ENGLISH

103. By the end of the infant stage higher attaining pupils read accurately and with enthusiasm. They are able to relate events in a story and predict what might happen next. They are developing a range of strategies to tackle unknown words. Average ability pupils have reading standards that are below those expected for seven-year- olds, reading simple texts accurately and with understanding but most rely on word recognition and picture cues when reading. Lower attaining pupils are at the earliest stages of reading learning the initial sounds of words through singing songs like the ‘alphabet song’ and ‘I spy’ and simple sight vocabulary words. Progress is broadly satisfactory as pupils build on skills which help them to recognise, read and write sounds in words. Lower attaining pupils, including those with special needs, do not make as much progress as they could because they have insufficient support at the

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ENGLISH

earliest stages of reading. Pupils have too few opportunities to read aloud to adults.

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ENGLISH

104. Writing standards for eleven-year-olds are approaching the national average for pupils of this age. By the time they leave school the majority of pupils are able to use a range of writing formats to describe, report or express opinion and many are able to write satisfactory accounts in other subjects. They record dialogue, make lists and use different genres. Pupils can compare texts and change and record similarities and differences between them and have experience of using connectives. By Year 6 pupils are starting to plan, draft, revise and edit their own story-writing and in the writing of non-fiction. Most pupils in Year 6 use full stops, capital letters, speech marks and the apostrophe but dictionaries are not used systematically to aid spelling. In some classes targets are pasted in the front of their writing books or on the desk. Such strategies are St Peter’s CE Primary School - 37 a daily reminder of teachers’ expectations. In some classes the teachers’ marking key

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ENGLISH

is made explicit in the inside cover of the writing books so that pupils are able to locate errors and improve their written work and this is good practice.

p.37

ENGLISH

105. A good deal of written work throughout the school takes the form of copy-writing which affords little challenge to the average and above average pupil. Only a few teachers give pupils the opportunity to write freely to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding in other subject areas to extend writing across the curriculum.

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ENGLISH

106. In the infant stage, writing standards are broadly average. By the end of the infants, pupils write for a range of purposes and use their knowledge of letter sounds well in their spelling. Lower attaining pupils, including those with special educational needs, and some of those who have English as an additional language, know many initial sounds but work for these pupils contains little challenge often just requiring labelling, underlining, circling or colouring objects beginning with a letter sound. This limits their progress. Samples of pupils’ unaided writing are built up termly into a ‘Continuity Book’ to monitor their progress but teacher annotation with a National Curriculum level is not given. In class, pupils often have additional adult support and this has an impact on the good progress they make.

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ENGLISH

107. Standards of handwriting by the end of the junior stage are not high enough. Although handwriting is legible, a significant minority of pupils are not forming their letters correctly nor joining their letters properly or neatly. Insufficient time is given to the development of these skills. Similarly, presentation of work is variable between classes. There is little evidence of ICT being used to support work in literacy, to extend pupils’ independent research skills, or to enable them to draft, revise and edit their own writing.

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ENGLISH

108. Overall teaching is satisfactory. Teachers have a good knowledge and understanding of the subject and work hard to raise standards. They motivate and encourage pupils and where this is effective pupils respond with imagination and good ideas. When teachers co-operatively teach with support teachers to assist pupils with special educational needs or children who are learning English as an additional language teaching is well managed and teachers collaborate well together. Literacy lessons are well planned, effectively based on the National Literacy Strategy and have clear learning objectives which are shared with the pupils. A weakness in planning is that insufficient attention is paid to the provision of tasks that challenge the least able and the more able in each class and that progress is not evaluated sufficiently to ensure repetition does not occur. Time is not used effectively and homework is not making a significant

p.37

ENGLISH

contribution to developing the learning.

p.37

ENGLISH

109. The co-ordinator gives satisfactory leadership to colleagues and, together with the headteacher and the local education authority advisor, has been involved in monitoring teaching and learning in the subject with the result that teachers have a clear idea of the requirements of the literacy strategy. The co-ordinator has long-term plans for literacy, which includes the writing of a policy document to include these new initiatives. The school library has been recently refurbished and books have been reorganised under the Dewey classification system. A standard reading test ( NFER), Literacy Key Words Test , QCA standardised tests in Years 3, 4 and 5 and a Spelling Age Test have been introduced. There is little difference between the attainment of boys and girls at seven years of age. At eleven years of age attainment of boys is well in advance of girls. Targets set for improvement in 2000 have been exceeded.

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MATHEMATICS

110. The results of the 1999 National Curriculum tests at the end of the junior stage were well below the national average and were below when compared with similar schools. Although results show an improvement in 2000, less than half of pupils achieve the St Peter’s CE Primary School - 38 national expectation of Level 4 and only five per cent achieved the higher Level 5. The school met its most recent target and the 2001 target provides a suitable challenge.

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MATHEMATICS

111. The results of the 1999 National Curriculum tests at the end of the infant stage were below the national average, but when compared with similar schools the results were better than average. Results have fluctuated over the past four years since the last inspection but the implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy and the Improving Primary Mathematics project are helping to raise standards by introducing pupils to the more effective methods of learning earlier in their school life.

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MATHEMATICS

112. Inspection evidence indicates that standards are still below average by the end of the infant stage although pupils are making satisfactory progress. They are developing greater confidence at handling number and performing mental calculations. Progress in the junior stage is unsatisfactory and despite improvements over the four years 1996- 1999, standards remain well below average. Pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language make unsatisfactory progress.

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MATHEMATICS

113. In the infant section progress is most noticeable in the acquisition of numeracy skills. Most pupils are confident when recalling addition and subtraction facts up to twenty. However, pupils in a Year 2 class were less confident when working with numbers above nine. Pupils have a sound knowledge of two-dimensional shape but little understanding of three-dimensional shape. In all classes pupils use correct mathematical language.

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MATHEMATICS

114. In the junior stage pupils are improving their ability at mental calculation because the school has emphasised this aspect of mathematics. Pupils in a Year 5 class can double a four-digit number mentally and know different ways of using written methods of multiplication. A scrutiny of workbooks in Year 5 shows pupils are able to put information into bar graphs and communicate the results clearly. Pupils also use a computer to construct graphs. In Year 6 pupils solve problems using data and construct frequency tables to show the results. They know that fractions are several parts of a whole number. Other pupils in Year 6 are able to describe the number of degrees in a right angle and know the names of other angles.

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MATHEMATICS

115. The quality of teaching overall in the infant stage was satisfactory. In the junior stage a quarter of the lessons seen were unsatisfactory with the rest satisfactory or better. Where the teaching was unsatisfactory there was evidence of unsatisfactory planning with vague planning of learning objectives and a slow pace to lessons, which lead to poor management of pupils and unsatisfactory behaviour. Where the teaching was satisfactory lessons are planned along the lines of the National Numeracy Strategy or Improving Primary Mathematics project, having clear learning objectives, and an appropriate sequence of activities presented at a satisfactory pace with pupils involved in their own learning. Pupils have personal targets written in their exercise books although high attaining pupils are not set suitable challenge in their targets or in their class work. Homework is set according to the school’s homework policy but again this

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MATHEMATICS

has insufficient challenge for more able pupils. Work is marked but opportunities are missed to communicate how pupils are able to improve. Information and communication technology to support the learning of mathematics is unsatisfactory. Mathematics makes little contribution to other subjects.

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MATHEMATICS

116. The mathematics co-ordinator provides effective leadership and is committed to raising standards. The school now uses regular tests to check on pupils’ progress and the results are analysed to pinpoint areas of weakness and to help the target-setting process. Planning and teaching are monitored but are insufficiently rigorous and systematic. Resources are satisfactory and accessible. Improvement since the last inspection has taken place in the infants but not in the juniors. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 39

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SCIENCE

117. Standards, by the time the pupils reach the age of eleven, the end of the junior stage, improved in 2000 in comparison with 1999 and reversed a downward trend in 1998 and 1999. Standards, however, remain well below the national average and below that of similar schools. The main reason for the improvement in 2000 has been a change in teaching methods which focus more on all aspects of science during the pupils’ last year at the school, and a revision of these before the national tests are taken. Pupils, including those with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs, throughout the junior stage do, however, only achieve well below average standards. This is mainly due to the teachers’ overall lack of knowledge of the National Curriculum’s levels of attainment.

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SCIENCE

118. Standards, by the time the pupils reach the age of seven at the end of the infant stage, as assessed by teachers, are well below the national average but in line with the average achieved by similar schools for the proportion of pupils reaching the nationally expected Level 2. This picture has been a similar one for 1999 and 2000 and for present Year 2 pupils. The large majority of pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress, however, teachers do not provide sufficient challenge for the most able pupils. As a result, more able pupils, including those that have English as an additional language, make unsatisfactory progress and underachieve.

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SCIENCE

119. Overall, improvement since the last inspection has been unsatisfactory with no training of note offered to teachers in recent years.

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SCIENCE

120. The range of learning opportunities for the infants is satisfactory but it is very limited for the juniors and is unsatisfactory. The development of basic skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT in science is unsatisfactory. There is very little use of computers to support the teaching of science. The use of computers is at a very early stage and the match of program to the pupils’ abilities is unsatisfactory in that the programs are insufficiently challenging. There is some good use of written work and discussions to promote language skills in science and pupils in some classes are encouraged to research their areas of study to find out further information. However, there is an overuse of exercises that involve copy-writing and filling in missing words from text provided by the teacher. The development of numeracy skills is unsatisfactory as there are few opportunities for this during investigative work, for example, the use of timers to encourage accuracy

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SCIENCE

and the encouragement for pupils to develop their own ways of recording results.

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SCIENCE

121. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall in the infants and in the juniors it is unsatisfactory in a few classes. The quality between classes ranges between very poor to very good. Teaching is very good in Year 4 with lessons which are planned effectively with good opportunities for pupils to improve on their own learning. As a result, pupils are keen, interested and well motivated. An example of this was in a Year 4 lesson when the teacher used a life-size human skeleton to stimulate interest and provided ample amounts of books to enable the pupils to research interesting facts about the human body to share with the rest of the class. Pupils relished the challenge and made very good progress in their knowledge and understanding of the skeleton and joints. When teaching is unsatisfactory, as in a class in Year 5, the degree of difficulty is below that to which most pupils can achieve.

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SCIENCE

As a result, most pupils become bored, rapidly lose interest in the lesson and make very little progress. In some instances, the pupils’ restlessness is well managed but when teachers do not have the skill to manage the pupils’ behaviour effectively the lesson deteriorates and learning becomes difficult.

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SCIENCE

122. A main weakness in the teaching throughout the school is the quality of planning and assessment. Teachers do not plan in a way that clearly identifies objectives that offer St Peter’s CE Primary School - 40 difficulty for respective abilities. The effect of this is that the most able pupils are insufficiently challenged and teachers are unable to assess the potential of the pupils so as to plan more appropriate work for them in the future.

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SCIENCE

123. Science has not been regarded as a priority by the school in the last few years mainly because of the focus on literacy and numeracy. The scheme of work now being followed provides a good coverage of the National Curriculum. Detailed assessment of what pupils achieve in national tests is starting to influence the teaching in Year 6. However, there is insufficient monitoring of how well pupils of different abilities and ethnic groups improve as they move through the school. Therefore the co-ordinator has little opportunity to influence the rate of progress achieved by the pupils and to observe teaching.

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ART AND DESIGN

124. Standards in art and design in both infant and junior stages are in line with that expected nationally and pupils make satisfactory progress. These standards have been maintained since the last inspection. In a Year 5 classroom there are good examples of observational pencil drawings and in another junior classroom drawings of faces that were developed into making clay faces. There are good links to literacy with displays about children’s authors such as Roald Dahl.

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ART AND DESIGN

125. In both infant and junior stages pupils use sketchbooks to investigate drawing technique. Pupils in a Year 2 class make simple viewfinders to use in helping them develop their skills of observation, looking closely at lines to help develop their drawings.

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ART AND DESIGN

126. Because teachers advise pupils about their skills and techniques, pupils’ confidence grows, they become involved in the task and make satisfactory progress. For example, in a Year 6 class pupils had to complete one half of a face by turning the photograph upside down and concentrating on looking at the lines in the face to enable them to complete the picture. The results were commendable.

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ART AND DESIGN

127. The quality of teaching is satisfactory in both infant and junior stages. Teachers have satisfactory knowledge of the subject and an enthusiasm that transfers to pupils. Teachers demonstrate skills and give pupils opportunities to practice and make decisions on improving their work. Most teachers show that they value pupils’ work by giving oral feedback during the lesson and they display pupils’ work to celebrate success. In these ways pupils’ confidence is built up and progress improves. They manage and organise pupils well and provide the necessary resources. Little use is made of computers in art lessons, either for generating imagery or researching works of art.

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ART AND DESIGN

128. A very large painting, painted by a visiting artist during 1999, depicts the school and its neighbourhood and dominates the hall area. Another visiting artist worked with some Year 6 pupils to produce a well-executed piece of clay work. Art displays around the school create an attractive visual environment and show the satisfactory progress pupils make. Many of the art displays have bilingual writings or labels, which demonstrates the value the school places on respecting all pupils.

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ART AND DESIGN

129. The leadership of art is satisfactory. The co-ordinator has identified as a priority the development of an art policy. The school has this year adopted the exemplar scheme of work produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). The school plans to adapt this scheme of work to meet its own needs. Teachers’ plans are monitored by the co-ordinator but currently no time is allocated to monitor teaching. Although resources are satisfactory the co-ordinator plans to increase the range and quality to help improve the standards of work. There is no systematic assessment of St Peter’s CE Primary School - 41 pupils’ work.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

130. In this subject there was very little evidence available during the inspection and no lessons were seen. However, the scrutiny of work from previous years enabled judgements to be formed for some year groups. Standards of work in Years 1 and 4 are similar to that found in the last inspection and are in line with that expected nationally, but standards in Year 6 are below and show little progress in skills of design and outcome from that achieved in Year 4. In Year 1, pupils made a variety of good quality musical instruments that showed a good degree of creative thought in the use of materials to give the greatest effect. The artefacts were put together well and demonstrated good construction skills. In Year 4, pupils produced a wide range of designs for the production of Eid cards, science games, Tudor books, purses and cars. The designs provided some good insight into the pupils’ thinking behind the types

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

of materials to use and how they would construct them. Pupils also demonstrated effective skills of evaluation.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

131. The subject contributes satisfactorily to the development of basic literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils write down their plans and designs clearly and accurate measurements are encouraged so that the outcomes are successful. There was no evidence of the use of computer programs to promote the development of design.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

132. The co-ordinator is only in her second year of teaching but has a good technology background. When appointed co-ordinator, she reviewed the subject and identified areas for development. She is providing satisfactory leadership and management of the subject. A full evaluation of the quality of teaching throughout the school has not taken place but a portfolio of pupils’ work with appropriate teachers’ comments on the standards achieved is planned for. The co-ordinator is also keen to develop a new scheme of work that has a clear identification of how teachers build on the skills achieved by pupils in the previous year.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

133. In geography, progress is satisfactory and pupils generally attain the standards expected at the end of both infant and junior stages. Only a few lessons were observed but, based on this evidence, a scrutiny of work and discussions with staff, standards have been maintained since the last inspection. A number of pupils who have English as an additional language or pupils who have special educational needs make unsatisfactory progress as the work does not match their prior attainment. A minority of infant pupils with English as an additional language are withdrawn from lessons on a regular timetabled basis to do other work which means their achievements are limited as staff do not plan to make up this time. There was too little evidence to make a judgement about standards and progress in history throughout the school.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

134. In Year 2 pupils are able to use symbols to represent buildings on a simple map and can co-ordinate colours to represent physical features on a map collage. In one lesson they were copying drawings of buildings from a book; this showed little progress from some good earlier work on map keys. Their listening and attention to the ‘big book’ were very good.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

135. In one Year 4 lesson, higher attaining pupils were able to interpret temperature and rainfall graphs for London. Average attaining pupils could copy information about the English seasons and lower attaining pupils identified weather symbols. In one Year 5 lesson, attainment was well below national expectation, pupils were not confident in their knowledge of the water cycles and they copied information from the whiteboard whatever their prior attainment with varying handwriting styles. Some pupils were still St Peter’s CE Primary School - 42 unable to spell correctly even though copying. Work in the scrutiny shows that Year 3 pupils have been finding out why people move about.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

136. A scrutiny of history books shows that Year 1 pupils have been looking at new and old toys, Year 3 have been studying the Roman period of time and some Year 6 pupils have researched a famous person from the past using the Internet; in this case John Lennon. There is very little independent research work and much of the work in books is unfinished or, in one case, finished by the teacher; this limits pupils’ achievement.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

137. The quality of teaching in infant geography lessons is satisfactory and good in one Year 2 lesson where the teacher planned an interesting collage activity, supporting pupils well and encouraging them in their work. Year 2 planning shows good links with literacy and art; for example, the map referred to an island in the book of the week and pupils were making maps using collage materials and skills.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

138. Teaching in the juniors is satisfactory overall. It was good in a Year 4 geography lesson where the teacher led a lively introduction to the lesson, she had good classroom management skills and used graphs well to represent information. Teaching was unsatisfactory in one Year 5 class where the teacher had very low expectations of the pupils which resulted in unchallenging work - pupils were copying every word about a subject they had already covered in an earlier lesson. Pupils showed little respect for the teacher or the work. No teaching was observed during the last inspection so no judgement on improvement can be made.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

139. Leadership and management of history and geography are unsatisfactory. There is no policy for geography and the history policy is brief and lacks adequate guidance on coverage and teaching methods. There is some monitoring of planning in both subjects but monitoring of the curriculum and teaching does not take place as no time is set aside for this activity. Teachers’ planning generally ensures both classes in a year group have consistent curricular and learning opportunities. Visits are planned to enhance the curriculum; for example a field trip to support work on the water cycles. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 43

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

140. A key issue in the previous report was to raise attainment in ICT throughout the school by increasing staff expertise and purchasing relevant resources. Pupils’ attainment throughout the school was reported as being below the national expectation. Pupils’ attainment now is well below that expected nationally at both seven and eleven years of age and progress is poor.

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

141. The post-inspection action plan drawn up by the headteacher, staff and governors to raise attainment in ICT has not been successful. Computers which have been purchased have proved to be unreliable, while others are incompatible with the systems now being installed. Staff expertise in the use of ICT is limited with few staff having full confidence in the use of appropriate programs.

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

142. Leadership is unsatisfactory. In 1999 (November) a new action plan was produced by the previous co-ordinator, which charted the way forward. New computers were installed and a network was partially set up in the school. Some staff training was instigated in the use of the Internet and in e-mail. However, on the resignation of the co- ordinator at the start of the summer term 1999, the headteacher is now responsible for the subject and machines have been purchased and networked into four areas since July 2000. Appropriate software has been installed in a number of machines and all staff have been involved in training following an individual audit of training needs. However, the situation has not been fully resolved and provision is, as yet, unsatisfactory. Teachers continue to be unsure how to use ICT to improve learning, although they are now beginning to use the QCA scheme which has been adopted by

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

the school to provide a basis for progression.

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

143. Pupils in Year 6 are gaining confidence in their use of ICT, often from working alongside their peers who have computers at home. A few pupils have access to ICT outside school and these pupils make most progress. They are able to help others to extract relevant pieces of information on given topics from the Internet, for example they have used the Internet to research the lives of famous people. They log on to programs, know the functions of the various keys and select from a menu, but they are unable to print their work. In Year 5, a few pupils have used a spreadsheet to collect information in order to construct a basic bar chart and some have learned how to send an e-mail, although this work has yet to be followed up.

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

144. Many of the pupils in the infants and in Years 3 and 4 are only at a basic level of competence. In a Year 4 class, pupils were being taught the function of the mouse and the monitor, different fonts and sizes and how to highlight. In a Year 3 lesson, the objective was to review opening a document and manipulate text through the technique of copy and paste. The objective was not met, partly due to the whole class being taught around a single small monitor screen. In the infants, little use is made of computers. Some work was observed of drawings and colourings using a computer. A group of Year 1 pupils playing Word Bingo found little challenge in the program, especially those who could already recognise the letters and words. There is no evidence of controlling and modelling and only limited evidence of using ICT for handing information and communicating ideas and information in a variety of forms. Few pupils

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

are able to add to or amend information and little use is made of ICT to word process work undertaken in other subjects.

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

145. At present, computers are under-used throughout the school. There is no coherent action plan to establish ICT as a tool to aid teaching and learning, although the outline curriculum development plan for ICT for 1999-2001 provides a suitable starting point. However, there has been little urgency in aspects of this plan, for example pupil portfolios have yet to be established and used, there are no costings for resources and there is no check on progress being made within a given time scale. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 44 146. Some use is made of other communication technology in the form of tape recorders, headphones, recorded music and overhead projectors. The oldest pupils use these aids well, while tape recorders are used satisfactorily by infant pupils. There is no digital camera available to allow pupils scope in making their own pictures and recording some of their work, for example in design and technology.

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INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

147. The use of information and communication technology in the form of computers and computer programs is a serious weakness throughout the school.

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MUSIC

148. In 1996, at the last inspection, pupils’ attainments at the infant stage were below the national expectation and a key issue was to raise attainment at this stage. This has been accomplished successfully and attainment throughout the school is in line with that expected nationally and pupils are making satisfactory progress.

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MUSIC

149. The action plan from the last inspection has been well carried out with the exception that keyboards have not been purchased and therefore there is no link with computer technology. The use of the specialist peripatetic music teacher in increasing teachers’ expertise has been especially beneficial in having the impact of raising standards throughout the school and giving guidance on teaching methods.

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MUSIC

150. The pupils have a good repertoire of songs. They are encouraged to sing tunefully and they enjoy their singing, especially in assembly. The headteacher is the subject co- ordinator and provides good leadership. He is enthusiastic and able to accompany the singing using a variety of instruments. This expertise understandably lifts the quality of singing. Monitoring of the teaching is limited by time and other headteacher duties.

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MUSIC

151. Year 6 pupils are gaining a good understanding of notation and have a strong sense of rhythm. This was demonstrated well in a lesson where they had to ‘answer’ a complex rhythm pattern with another rhythm. This was linked to work in their literacy lessons on the poem of Hiawatha. Year 3 pupils, taught by the specialist teacher, made good progress in their work on pitch and in working together on a music score using their own symbols. This resulted in a creditable performance.

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MUSIC

152. Younger pupils in the infants have been taught well to listen to and copy sounds of percussion instruments made by the teacher. In another part of the lesson they were taught to sing up and down a scale which they accomplished well. Percussion instruments used are of good quality and Year 1 pupils know their correct names. The oldest junior pupils are being introduced to musical terminology and know some of the technical terms such as ‘presto’ and musical forms such as ‘concerto’.

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MUSIC

153. A key element in the improvement of standards is the use of the specialist teacher, not only as a music teacher but as a teacher trainer. He is a very skilled communicator and this, linked to the enthusiasm of the subject co-ordinator, the adoption of the QCA scheme and the obvious enjoyment of the pupils, is giving music a secure place in the curriculum. The needs of pupils with reading difficulties are appropriately addressed by going over the words carefully when a song is to be learnt. In addition, the school recognises the part other cultures can play in the music programme, using the pupils’ own Asian dance rhythms and listening to performances by visiting Asian music groups and to a wider variety of recorded music from around the world.

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MUSIC

154. There is a school choir but membership is restricted to those pupils who are able to sing at worship in church. This has the effect of denying this activity to the majority of pupils whose religion is not Christian. In the past there have been groups for guitar but, at present, this is not functioning but a percussion group meets regularly. Recorders St Peter’s CE Primary School - 45 are not taught and there is no teaching of stringed, brass or woodwind instruments. Provision, therefore, is limited to singing, listening, playing percussion instruments and, although these are well carried out, pupils’ music experiences in the school are somewhat restricted.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

155. It was not possible to observe all aspects of physical education during the inspection. Based on the aspects seen, standards of attainment are judged to be in line with national expectation at the end of junior and infant stages. This is an improvement since the last inspection when standards were below national expectation in the infant stage. Pupils make satisfactory progress and those pupils who have special educational needs are supported appropriately and encouraged by their peers to enable them to make satisfactory progress.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

156. Pupils in the junior stage used a radio movement broadcast to practise a fluent sequence of movement to simulate swimming in a race at the Olympic Games. The lesson improved when the teacher stopped using the broadcast and demonstrated the sequences herself. Pupils were self-controlled, confident and used the space well. Pupils in the infant stage developed control and co-ordination of their bodies as they thought about different ways of moving and putting those movements into a flowing and controlled sequence and getting great joy from their performance. Teachers’ questioning allowed pupils to refine their ideas and improve their final sequences.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

157. The quality of teaching in physical education is satisfactory at both stages. Teachers manage their pupils well and pupils respond with a positive attitude. Teachers join in the warm-up activities and encourage good work. Safety is stressed at all times. Pupils are used as exemplars, whereby a pupil demonstrates a good sequence and allows others to think about their own performance and how it can be improved. Both teachers and pupils are appropriately dressed for the activities.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

158. A satisfactory range of sporting extra-curricular clubs extends physical education lessons. During a school football club pupils, ranging from Year 4 to Year 6, developed their passing and dribbling skills before playing small team matches. This meets before school in the morning to take account of those pupils who have other commitments after school. The conduct and attitude of pupils towards one another is good. They are given the opportunity to play competitive games against other schools.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

159. Year 3 pupils swim for one hour each day for three weeks of the term. The school pays the costs involved. Thereafter, no swimming lessons are made available. The school also finances all Year 6 pupils to experience a local three-day adventure exercise. Unfortunately this is not residential, but it provides pupils with both adventure and challenge during the time away from school. The school uses money from the New Opportunities Fund for Study Support to support this.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

160. Resources are satisfactory with an adequate indoor hall and large field. During the inspection the weather prevented the use of the field. There is sufficient small apparatus stored off the hall where the equipment is readily accessible to all.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

161. The recently appointed co-ordinator is enthusiastic and provides satisfactory leadership. There is a very detailed policy that considers cultural issues, and the school has now adopted a published scheme of work together with that produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. This gives teachers a good basis from which to plan. Teachers have received training to give them further skills to develop their teaching skills. However, monitoring of teaching and assessment has taken place by the headteacher. The co-ordinator is new to the post and is assessing where further developments are required to raise standards. St Peter’s CE Primary School - 46

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

162. Standards in religious education are in line with those expected locally at the end of the infant and junior stages, a similar picture to that found in the last inspection. The school has an enthusiastic co-ordinator who has produced a scheme of work that can be followed by all staff based on the locally agreed syllabus. The programme is followed well throughout the school and enables the pupils, including those with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs, to make at least satisfactory progress as they move up through the school. In some lessons in both the infants and juniors progress is very good, principally due to teachers’ good understanding and knowledge of the subject and the use of effective teaching methods. In the infants, pupils have a sound understanding of different religions and contribute effectively to lessons by retelling their own experiences and have a good understanding

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

of what is right and wrong. By the end of the junior stage, pupils understand the differences and similarities of different religions as a result of their studies of Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam. Pupils respond thoughtfully to others’ views on religious and moral issues.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

163. Religious education makes a satisfactory contribution to the development of literacy skills particularly through discussion and through creative writing, for example the writing of an advertisement for a new Imam in Year 4, and writing about worship in the day of a Hindu. However, these opportunities are outweighed by too many copy-writing exercises. There are few opportunities for pupils to use computers to support their work.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

164. The quality of teaching and learning is at least good and in two out of the four lessons seen it was very good. In the very good lessons in both the infants and juniors, teachers demonstrate a very good appreciation of the wide range of experiences the pupils bring to the lessons and make very effective use of the pupils’ own experiences. In a Year 1 lesson, pupils brought in their own prayer mats and demonstrated hand washing by taking off their shoes and socks. This activity produced an enthusiastic response and a keenness to learn more. In Year 4, the teacher encouraged the involvement of Muslim pupils who demonstrated an excellent knowledge and understanding of Islam and of important people like the Imam. This sharing of experiences stimulated a good deal of interest amongst all the pupils who then worked very well, in groups, to produce ideas for an advertisement for an Imam. The main weakness in teaching is a tendency for

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

teachers to over-direct, not allowing the pupils to have sufficient time to think and reflect for themselves. Much of the work pupils complete is the result of copying from the board or worksheets. This means that the teachers’ marking does not assess how much the pupils know and understand and therefore the comments made by the teachers do not extend learning further or question what the pupils have produced.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

165. The co-ordinator has participated in a local authority working group to develop the use of assessment in religious education. This demonstrates the keen willingness of the co-ordinator to extend her own knowledge and to share the authority’s most recent thinking with the rest of the staff. Assessment procedures, however, are inadequate in determining how much progress pupils make. The deputy headteacher evaluates teachers’ medium-term plans along with the co-ordinator but does not have the opportunity to assess the quality of teaching in the lessons nor the quality of the work the pupils do with the result that the co-ordinator has incomplete knowledge of priorities for development in the subject.

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