St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Acting Headteacher: Miss Carolyn Scrutton

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ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 31 st January - 2 nd February 2005

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ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC 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 JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Voluntary aided Age range of pupils: 4 – 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 183

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Norfolk Road Dorking Surrey Postcode: RH4 3JA

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: (01306) 883 934 Fax number: (01306) 500 286

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr Patrick Casey

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 24 th - 27 th May 1999

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

There are 183 pupils on roll, aged between four and eleven years, and they are taught in seven classes. The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average, as is the percentage identified as having special educational needs. Three pupils have statements of special educational need. There are few pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds and none are at an early stage of English language acquisition.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school is the only Catholic school in Dorking. It is situated in a locality which is relatively advantaged, although it admits pupils from a fairly wide area. Children’s overall standards are a little above average on entry to the reception class.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

In 2002, the school gained the Investors in People award and the School Achievement award. In 2003, it was awarded the Activemark.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school is currently being led by an acting headteacher, who was temporarily promoted from her permanent post of deputy headteacher in September 2004. Because of the change in her role, the school also has an acting deputy headteacher. At the time of the inspection, the governors were advertising for a permanent headteacher to start in September 2005. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 2

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

2414 David Westall Lead inspector Science Art and design Design and technology Music Foundation Stage 1333 Elizabeth Forster Lay inspector 3856 Sandy Wellsted Team inspector English History Personal, social and health education English as an additional language Special Educational Needs 24019 Ken Parry Team inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology Geography Physical education

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Tribal PPI 1 – 4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637 833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 3

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 6 - 9

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 6 - 9

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 9 - 14

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

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OVERALL EVALUATION

This is a good school. It benefits from an able and committed staff and from the good leadership and management skills of the acting headteacher. The quality of teaching is good and enables pupils to do well. Pupils’ personal development is fostered very effectively, and the school is a caring community where everyone matters. The school provides good value for money.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics and attain standards that are above national expectations in Years 2 and 6. Their standards are also above national expectations in geography and art and design in Year 2 and in history in Year 6, reflecting good achievement. • The quality of teaching and learning is good, overall. • The acting headteacher and the acting deputy headteacher are fulfilling their roles well, and the leadership and management of provision for pupils with special educational needs are good. • Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good, and the school fosters their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. • Pupils with special educational needs make good progress as a result of effective teaching. • The curriculum is broad and relevant, and pupils benefit from a good range of extra- curricular and other activities that further enrich their learning. • Pupils’ welfare is a high priority and they are well cared for and supported.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• The monitoring roles of most co-ordinators are underdeveloped, largely because most have only recently taken responsibility for their subjects. • The most capable pupils sometimes mark time in science and information and communication technology (ICT) because their work is too easy. • Opportunities are sometimes missed to promote children’s creative development in the reception class.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

Overall, the school has made satisfactory progress since its last inspection. Standards in Year 6 are broadly similar to those found in 1999, although they are no longer below national expectations in ICT. Pupils’ annual reports provide a clearer picture of pupils’ achievements, and governors’ reports to parents now meet statutory requirements. The most capable pupils are no longer making unsatisfactory progress, although they still mark time in some lessons. Monitoring procedures have improved in relation to teachers’ planning and provision for pupils with special educational needs but still lack sufficient rigour in most subjects of the National Curriculum.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

STANDARDS ACHIEVED Pupils’ achievement is good . It is satisfactory in the reception class and is good in Years 1 to 6. As a result, pupils’ standards are generally above national expectations in Years 2 and 6.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

The table below shows that the school’s results in the national tests in Year 6 were broadly similar in 2002 and 2004. The school believes that the results dipped in 2003 because the Year 6 class had a higher than usual percentage of pupils with learning difficulties.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

Results in National all schools similar schools St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 5 Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2002 2003 2004 2004

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

English A B A* B mathematics A C A C science A* B A D Key: A* - very high; A - well above average; B - above average; C - average; D - below average; E - well below average. Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2. Pupils’ good achievement is reflected in their current standards which are above national expectations in reading and writing in Year 2, in English in Year 6 and in mathematics in Years 2 and 6. Pupils do not achieve quite as well in science. Nevertheless, their achievement is satisfactory in the subject and their standards are a little above national expectations in Years 2 and 6. In ICT, current standards are in line with national expectations in Years 2 and 6 but are rising as a result of recent improvements in resources and teachers’ expertise.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

Standards are above national expectations, and reflect pupils’ good achievement, in geography and art and design in Year 2 and in history in Year 6. Standards are in line with national expectations, and represent satisfactory achievement, in art and design in Year 6 and in design and technology in Years 2 and 6. Personal, social and health education permeates much of the school’s work and enables pupils to achieve well in this important element of their development. Insufficient evidence was collected to make secure judgements about pupils’ standards and achievements in other subjects in Years 2 and 6.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

There are no significant differences between the standards reached by boys and girls, and the very small number of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds achieve at least as well as their peers. Across the school, pupils with special educational needs achieve well in relation to the targets in their individual education plans. The achievement of the most capable pupils is satisfactory, overall. While these pupils generally do well in English and mathematics, they sometimes mark time in science and ICT lessons because their work is too easy.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

Pupils’ attitudes, values and behaviour are very good, and the school makes very good provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Relationships between pupils and between pupils and adults are very positive. The attendance rate is in line with the national median.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The school provides a good quality of education for its pupils. The teaching is satisfactory in the reception class, and early skills in literacy and numeracy are taught well. However, opportunities are sometimes missed to promote children’s creative development. In Years 1 to 6, the teaching is good and enables pupils to make good overall progress in their learning, including in the key subjects of English, mathematics and ICT. The curriculum provides a wide range of worthwhile learning opportunities and is considerably enriched by visits, visitors and after-school clubs. The pupils are well cared for and supported, and the school’s partnership with parents is sound.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Overall, the leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. The acting headteacher has good leadership and management skills and is providing the school with a clear sense of direction. Teamwork is promoted strongly, and all staff have a shared commitment to the school’s priorities and aims. The work of the deputy headteacher is St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 6 good, and the leadership and management of provision for pupils with special educational needs are effective. However, systematic and rigorous procedures for monitoring provision are not securely established in most subjects, largely because subject co-ordinators have only recently taken on their roles.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Pupils enjoy school and parents have positive views about its work.

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

• Develop the roles of co-ordinators, so that they have a clear view of the strengths and weaknesses in their subjects and are able to target areas for improvement with more accuracy. • Ensure that the most capable pupils are given sufficiently challenging tasks in science and ICT. • Provide more stimulating opportunities to spark children’s creative development in the reception class. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 7

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

Pupils’ achievement is good . It is satisfactory in the reception class (the Foundation Stage) and is good in Years 1 to 6.

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MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics and attain standards that are above national expectations in Years 2 and 6. • Pupils with special educational needs make good progress, across the school. • Pupils’ standards are above national expectations in geography and art and design in Year 2 and in history in Year 6, reflecting their good achievement. • Children in the reception make good progress in communication, language and literacy, and in their mathematical and personal development. • The most capable pupils sometimes mark time in lessons in science and information and communication technology (ICT) because their work is too easy.

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Commentary

Standards on entry to the school 1. On entry to the reception class, there is considerable variation in children’s standards but, overall, they are a little above average.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

Standards in: School results National results reading 16.9 (15.7) 15.8 (15.7) writing 16.1 (14.8) 14.6 (14.6) mathematics 17.1 (15.8) 16.2 (16.3) There were 29 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

2. The table above shows that the results of the national tests in Year 2 in 2004 were above the national average in reading and mathematics, and well above the national average in writing. When these results were compared with those reached by similar schools, they were average in reading and mathematics, and above average in writing. The results of the statutory teacher assessments in science in Year 2 in 2004 were very high in relation to the results of all schools and well above the average results of similar schools. The results in reading, writing, mathematics and science were an improvement on those reached in 2003 when there was a larger proportion of pupils with learning difficulties in the Year 2 classes. The trend in the school’s results, over the last five years, was below the national trend, largely due to particularly high results in 2000 and 2001 and the dip in the results in 2003.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2004

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

Standards in: School results National results English 30.3 (27.8) 26.9 (26.8) mathematics 29.8 (27.3) 27.0 (26.8) St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 8 science 30.8 (29.5) 28.6 (28.6) There were 24 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

3. The table above shows that the results of the national tests in Year 6 in 2004 were well above the national average in mathematics and science, and were in the highest five per cent nationally in English. When these results were compared with those from schools where pupils achieved similarly when in Year 2, they were above average in English, average in mathematics and below average in science. These results were an improvement on those reached in 2003 when the Year 6 class had a higher than usual percentage of pupils with learning difficulties. Although the school’s results were well above the national average, or in the highest five per cent nationally, in English, mathematics and science in 2000, 2001 and 2002, the dip in 2003 meant that the overall trend in its results over the last five years was below the national trend. The school achieved beyond its statutory Year 6 targets in English in 2004, both in relation

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

to the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard and the percentage exceeding the standard. In mathematics, the school just missed its statutory target for the percentage of Year 6 pupils reaching the expected standard but surpassed its target for the percentage of pupils exceeding the standard.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

Standards at the time of the last inspection 4. When the school was last inspected, in 1999, standards in Year 2 were below national expectations in writing, and in line with national expectations in reading. However, in Year 6, pupils’ overall standards in English were above national expectations. In mathematics and science, pupils’ standards were above national expectations in Years 2 and 6. ICT was a weakness across the school, and pupils’ standards in the subject were below national expectations in Years 2 and 6. Pupils with special educational needs made satisfactory progress but the most capable pupils underachieved.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

The Foundation Stage 5. Overall, children’s achievement in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. They make good progress in language, numeracy and their personal development, and satisfactory progress in their physical development and in their knowledge and understanding of the world. Their progress in their creative development is more spasmodic but is just adequate, overall. The vast majority of children are on course to meet the expected standards in all areas of learning by the end of the reception year, and a significant minority will exceed these in communication, language, literacy and numeracy, as well in their personal, social and emotional development.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

Years 1 to 6 6. Pupils’ overall achievement is good in these year groups and results from good teaching. Pupils achieve well in the key subjects of English and mathematics. This is reflected in standards that are above national expectations in reading and writing in Year 2, in English in Year 6 and in mathematics in Years 2 and 6. Pupils’ speaking and listening skills are very good and are evident in their accurate recall of what they have been told and their use of a wide range of vocabulary to express their ideas clearly and confidently. Pupils do not achieve quite as well in science. Nevertheless, their achievement is satisfactory and their standards are a little above national expectations in the subject in Years 2 and 6. In ICT, current standards are in line with national expectations and reflect pupils’ satisfactory achievement. Standards have risen since the last inspection due to recent improvements in resources and teachers’ expertise

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 9 and confidence. Indeed, effective teaching is enabling pupils to make good progress in the subject and pupils’ standards are still rising, as a result.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

7. Standards are above national expectations, and reflect pupils’ good achievement, in geography and art and design in Year 2 and in history in Year 6. Standards are in line with national expectations, and represent satisfactory achievement, in art and design in Year 6 and in design and technology in Years 2 and 6. Personal, social and health education permeates much of the school’s work and enables pupils to achieve well in this important element of their development. Insufficient evidence was collected to make secure overall judgements about pupils’ standards and achievements in other subjects in Years 2 and 6.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

The achievement of different groups 8. There are no significant differences between the standards reached by boys and girls, and the very small number of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds achieve at least as well as their peers. Across the school, pupils with special educational needs achieve well and make good progress towards the targets in their educational plans. This is an improvement since the last inspection. The most capable pupils are also making better progress than at the time of the last inspection, and their overall achievement is satisfactory. However, while these pupils do well in English and mathematics, they sometimes mark time in science and in ICT lessons.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes, values and behaviour are very good . The school makes very good provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils have very good attitudes to learning, and behave very well. • Very good provision is made for pupils’ personal development. • Relationships are very positive.

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Commentary

Attitudes and behaviour 9. With very few exceptions, pupils enjoy school and all it has to offer. They have very positive attitudes to learning and do their best to achieve well in lessons. Pupils bring the same enthusiasm to other pursuits. Many pupils attend, and enjoy, the different clubs and other extra-curricular activities, and the sustained efforts of pupils involved in competitive sports have clearly obtained results, as can be seen in the form of trophies and certificates on display. From a very young age, they are able to work together constructively; they are not only prepared to listen to others’ ideas but are genuinely pleased to accommodate and use these to improve their work. This openness means that, given the opportunity, they are very good at evaluating their own and others’ performance. When asked to do so, for example in a lesson where older pupils practised to ‘perform’ a poem, their views were both perceptive and critical – but were

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Commentary

expressed in such a sensitive and thoughtful way that no offence was given, or taken. Relationships are very good at all levels: pupils appreciate and value their peers, and they show both trust and respect for their teachers and all the other adults who work with them. The few pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds work and play in harmony with other pupils. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 10 10. The vast majority of pupils behave very well at all times, including during lessons, at play and around the school. Pupils negotiate their way through constricted cloakrooms and narrow staircases without fuss, opening doors and standing aside to let others pass. They play together in a friendly way during playtimes and lunchtimes. Incidents involving teasing and bullying are very rare and are quickly dealt with by the staff. There have been no recent exclusions.

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Commentary

Attendance 11. Pupils’ attendance is in line with the national median, and is satisfactory. Pupils are punctual and sessions start on time.

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Commentary

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 5.1 School data 0.0 National data 5.1 National data 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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Commentary

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 12. Provision for pupils’ spiritual development is very good. The school’s Catholic ethos and the spiritual values made explicit in its mission statement touch all aspects of its life and work. Links with the parish are strong, and all Holy Days of Obligation are celebrated. Pupils participate in the planning of liturgies and take part in the celebration of key events in the liturgical year. Prayer has an important place in the daily life of the school, and pupils are given very good opportunities for reflection, not only in assemblies, but also in lessons, for example during personal, social and health education lessons (PSHE). Opportunities for spiritual development have been identified in all subjects: pupils are helped to appreciate the wonders of the natural world, to reflect on their own feelings, to empathise with others and to value the place

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Commentary

13. Very good provision is made for pupils’ moral and social development. Pupils’ moral and social development is underpinned by their Catholic faith and the values it promotes, and also by the very good relationships that exist at all levels. The school has a strong behaviour policy based on Gospel values, and all adults in the school have consistently high expectations of pupils’ conduct. Both in assemblies and in religious education lessons, moral and social themes develop pupils’ awareness of what is right and wrong, inspiring them to embrace responsibility for their own actions and to treat others with respect. The appointment of Year 6 pupils to the playground squad, with a brief for promoting good behaviour, helps them to develop a sense of responsibility and to recognise that they can ‘make a difference’. Pupils of all ages are involved in negotiating classroom rules and learn the responsibilities of living in a

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Commentary

community. The school house system fosters pupils’ feelings of allegiance to a community within the school community, while the good provision for clubs and extra- curricular activities gives them valuable opportunities for social interaction. During St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 11 lessons, all teachers nurture a spirit of co-operation in pupils through group work, while competitive sports, musical events and drama provide ample opportunities for pupils to learn the value of teamwork. Care of the environment is fostered through initiatives such as the ‘Golden Boot’ award designed to promote ‘green’ ways of travelling to school, while fund-raising events to support a number of local and national charities help to raise pupils’ awareness of the moral responsibility to care for those less fortunate than themselves. A well-established school council provides pupils with valuable insights into democratic processes.

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Commentary

14. Provision for cultural development is very good. Pupils make visits to many places of cultural and historical interest in connection with their studies in various subjects, and both role-play and drama are regular features of school life. Christian festivals are celebrated throughout the year, and opportunities are also taken to mark the festival days that hold significance for people of different faiths and cultures. A generous variety of extra-curricular clubs and activities involves many pupils in artistic, musical and sporting pursuits. The school is developing the multicultural aspects of its provision. For example, an arts week held in 2004, focused on Africa, included contributions from a storyteller from Ghana, an African theatre company, and opportunities for pupils to learn about African art and music. In addition, pupils have benefited from an Indian dance workshop.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The school provides a good quality of education for its pupils. The teaching is good, overall, and means that pupils make mainly good progress in their learning. The curriculum provides a wide range of worthwhile learning opportunities and is considerably enriched by visits, visitors and after-school clubs. The pupils are well cared for and supported, and the school’s partnership with parents is sound.

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Teaching and learning

Overall, the teaching and learning are good . They are satisfactory in the Foundation Stage and are good in Years 1 to 6.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The teaching is good in Years 1 to 6 and enables pupils to make good overall progress in their learning, including in the key subjects of English, mathematics and ICT. • Pupils with special educational needs are taught well, including by teaching assistants. • Basic skills in literacy and numeracy are well taught in the reception class. • The most capable pupils are sometimes given work that is too easy in science and ICT. • Opportunities are sometimes missed to promote pupils’ creative development effectively in the reception class.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 31 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

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Commentary

0 4 (13%) 15 (48%) 12 (39%) 0 0 0 The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 12 15. The table above shows that the teaching observed during the inspection was good, and occasionally very good, in six out of every ten lessons. The most effective teaching is in Years 2, 5 and 6. The overall quality of teaching was also good when the school was last inspected. However, in Years 1 to 6, the most capable pupils underachieved in 1999 because they were often given work which lacked sufficient challenge, and the teaching of ICT was unsatisfactory.

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Commentary

16. Across the school, teaching is characterised by good relationships between teachers and pupils. Pupils like and respect their teachers and it is clear that these feelings are reciprocated. All teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, and pupils respond well by demonstrating positive attitudes and concentrating on their tasks. Teachers’ planning is generally thorough and well focused, and shows that they know exactly what they expect pupils to learn. Overall, teachers’ knowledge about the subjects they teach is good, and this is particularly evident in the key subjects of English and mathematics. In the most effective lessons, teachers make very good use of questions to probe pupils’ understanding and to challenge their thinking. In these lessons, very good use is made of time, and many pupils are working at the edge of their current capabilities. Some lessons, which are satisfactory overall, have common

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Commentary

areas for improvement. Sometimes, there is too much teacher talk and too little pupil activity, and teachers’ questions are not used effectively to check pupils’ grasp of new ideas. The teaching of the most capable pupils has improved since the last inspection, and these pupils are generally given sufficiently challenging tasks. However, there are still occasions when these pupils mark time because their work is too easy, particularly in science and ICT.

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Commentary

17. In the Foundation Stage, the quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory, overall. Early skills in literacy and numeracy are taught well, and the teacher ensures that children’s personal, social and emotional development is fostered effectively. However, opportunities are sometimes missed to extend children’s learning through well judged questions and guidance, and the teacher sometimes needs to provide more stimulating and challenging opportunities to spark children’s creative response. 18. In Years 1 to 6, the quality of teaching is good in English, and pupils’ learning benefits from planning which makes strong connections between the development of their skills in speaking and listening, reading and writing. The quality of teaching in mathematics is also a strength of the school, and means that pupils make good progress in the subject. Teachers capture pupils’ interest well in mathematics lessons and know

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Commentary

exactly what they expect pupils to learn. In science, the quality of teaching is mainly satisfactory, although good teaching was observed in Years 5 and 6. Overall, the teaching enables pupils to make satisfactory progress in the subject. However, sometimes lessons are so prescribed that they provide pupils with insufficient opportunities to make decisions, for example by developing their own hypotheses and devising their own simple investigations.

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Commentary

19. In ICT, teachers’ skills and confidence have increased considerably since the last inspection, when computers were underused and pupils made unsatisfactory progress in the subject. As a result, the quality of teaching and learning is good and means that standards are rising. Insufficient lessons were observed for judgements to be made about the quality of teaching in other subjects. However, a careful scrutiny of pupils’ completed work shows that the teaching is enabling pupils to make satisfactory progress in their learning in design and technology in Years 1 to 6. It also provides secure evidence that the teaching results in pupils making good progress in art and design and geography in Years 1 and 2, and in history in Years 3 to 6. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 13 20. Pupils with special educational needs are taught well. Class teachers and teaching assistants work together effectively to plan tasks which take careful account of the

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Commentary

targets in the individual education plans for their pupils. The teaching assistants are well trained and perceptive. They provide teachers with valuable help to ensure that pupils with special educational needs are able to understand what they are taught and join in class discussions. At present, there are no pupils in the school who are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. Few teachers have had recent training in meeting the needs of pupils who may join the school with very limited English. However, the staff have appropriate access to expert advice through the local education authority when this is required.

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Commentary

Assessing pupils’ progress 21. Assessment procedures are satisfactory, overall. Children’s progress is regularly checked in the Foundation Stage and, across the school, the achievements and future learning requirements of pupils with special educational needs are monitored and assessed well. When the school was last inspected, individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs were very often too generalised. This weakness has been successfully addressed, and the vast majority of the current plans are thorough in their scope and identify targets which are precise, appropriate and achievable. Assessment procedures for the subjects of the National Curriculum were inconsistently applied when the school was last inspected, but this is no longer the case. The acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher have introduced effective systems which provide a clear picture of pupils’ progress from Year 1 to Year 6 in

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Commentary

English and mathematics. In particular, this has helped the school to identify those pupils who may be falling a little behind and need specific help to catch up. Already, these procedures have had a beneficial impact on pupils’ achievements in these subjects. Similar arrangements are planned for science, where teachers currently make regular assessments of pupils’ achievements at the end of units of work but do not relate these sufficiently to National Curriculum criteria. Commonly agreed assessment procedures are implemented thoroughly in other subjects, and these are satisfactory. Teachers know their pupils well and generally identify their learning needs accurately, including through well-focused discussions and skilful questions. The quality of their marking is generally satisfactory. However, occasionally, teachers do not adequately check the understanding of some pupils during their lessons, and miss

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Commentary

opportunities in their marking to give specific feedback about what pupils need to do to improve.

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The curriculum

The quality of curricular provision is good . Pupils’ learning is considerably enriched by a good range of additional activities.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school provides a broad, interesting and relevant curriculum. • A well-established programme of visits and visitors and a good range of extra- curricular activities enrich pupils’ learning. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 14 • Arrangements for pupils with special educational needs are good and enable them to achieve well. • The provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is good. • Children in the reception class would benefit from more stimulating opportunities to spark their creative development. • Book provision in the library requires improvement.

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Commentary

22. The curriculum for pupils in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, overall. It caters well for the development of children’s language, literacy and numeracy skills, as well as for their personal development. Provision for the development of children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and for their physical development is satisfactory. The overall provision for their creative development is just adequate, although children would benefit from more stimulating and challenging activities to promote this aspect of their work. In Years 1 to 6, national guidance, advice from the local education authority and commercial schemes have been used well to develop a broad and interesting curriculum. It is firmly based on the National Curriculum and the locally agreed syllabus for religious education, and is tailored well to the needs of the pupils. It ensures that they are well prepared for the move to their next schools. Statutory requirements are

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Commentary

met, including those relating to sex and drugs education. These make a valuable contribution to the good provision made for pupils’ personal, social and health education.

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Commentary

23. Teachers make good use of the national strategies for literacy and numeracy as the basis for planning in English and mathematics, and this contributes to the good standards seen in these subjects. The promotion of literacy skills across the curriculum is good, and includes a strong emphasis on the use of appropriate vocabulary in all subjects. The development and use of numeracy in other subjects is satisfactory. Subjects are successfully linked to make pupils’ learning more meaningful.

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Commentary

24. All pupils have equal access to the curriculum and to other activities. The results of regular assessments, including statutory and non-statutory testing, are used well to identify those pupils who are falling behind in literacy and numeracy and who would benefit from additional help. According to the level of need, they are then supported effectively in class lessons and, in some cases, by well-planned programmes which are implemented by teaching assistants. The provision made for the most capable pupils is satisfactory, overall. It is mainly good in English and mathematics but opportunities are sometimes missed to challenge these pupils sufficiently in science and ICT.

p.16

Commentary

25. A good range of additional activities is provided, including through after-school clubs. This includes very good opportunities for pupils to take part in a wide variety of sporting activities and good opportunities in music and the arts. A good range of visits to places of interest also enriches pupils’ learning, and a residential experience is offered for the older pupils. Themed weeks are organised in co-operation with other local schools, usually with a multicultural input, for example from a Ghanaian storyteller or Indian dance group. All of these contribute to the quality of pupils’ learning as well as their personal development. 26. The school is well staffed with well-qualified teachers and support staff. Teachers’ subject knowledge is good in the key areas of English, mathematics and ICT, and is St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 15 sound in science. They are well supported by teaching assistants who make an

p.16

Commentary

important contribution to the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

p.17

Commentary

27. Although some of the classrooms are a little cramped, the accommodation is satisfactory. Recent building work has provided a good sized classroom for Year 6 pupils and a spacious library. Good use is generally made of the available space, and the staff have created an attractive learning environment for the pupils. There is no playing field but the school makes very good use of neighbouring schools’ facilities for weekly games lessons and after school activities. Resources in all subjects are at least sufficient to meet current needs and in ICT they are good. However, the book resources in the library are limited and include some that are outdated.

p.17

Care, guidance and support

The care, welfare, health and safety of the pupils are good . Pupils are given good support and guidance. The school involves pupils well by seeking their views about its work.

p.17

Care, guidance and support

• Pastoral care for pupils is a strength of the school. • Child protection issues are rigorously promoted and implemented. • Health and safety arrangements are good. • Pupils’ views are valued.

p.17

Care, guidance and support

28. The school is a caring community. All adults in the school are good role models, and help pupils to understand the need to care for each other. Pupils entering the school are quickly made to feel welcome and become confident about seeking help from adults when necessary. A good rapport is built up with parents, either through direct contact or through the use of the home/school contact book, to ensure that any concerns about pupils’ welfare are raised and addressed promptly. This comprehensive approach to pastoral care ensures that pupils feel safe and secure and helps them develop positive attitudes and high self-esteem.

p.17

Care, guidance and support

29. The school is rigorous in following its policy on child protection; all staff are reminded of the need for awareness and how to report concerns. All adults who might come into contact with pupils, including parent helpers, are appropriately checked. Health and safety matters are dealt with thoroughly and risk assessments are in place to cover pupils’ going off-site, for example for physical education on a nearby school’s field. First aid is sympathetically administered and records of minor incidents are carefully documented. The parking arrangements for parents in a nearby commercial car park, the use of a crossing patrol person and the emphasis on road safety in the curriculum help to minimise the risks of the busy road.

p.17

Care, guidance and support

30. Induction arrangements are sound, with links to the major feeder pre-school enabling children to meet their new teacher before starting school. Parents feel that their children settle well into school routines. Pupils benefit from careful guidance on aspects of their personal development and generally receive sound guidance about how to improve their academic performance. The school council is used effectively as St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 16 a forum where pupils can make suggestions about how the school could be improved, and how they can best respond to the needs of others less fortunate than themselves through charitable fund-raising activities. Their opinions are also sought on proposed changes to school routines. The designation of time for all classes before and after council meetings for ideas and feedback shows pupils that the school values their views.

p.17

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The partnership with parents is satisfactory . Links with the community and other schools are good.

p.18

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• Links with the community provide good enrichment for pupils. • Links with other schools benefit staff and pupils. • Parents’ concerns or complaints are dealt with effectively.

p.18

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

31. St Joseph’s is an open school which values parents as part of its community and encourages them to be supportive. Parents have positive views about the school and are complimentary about its caring, family atmosphere. Concerns or occasional complaints are always taken seriously and followed up quickly before they become more difficult to resolve. Staff are expected to be proactive in raising any concerns with parents and the acting headteacher is happy to talk issues over informally as soon as they arise. Parents receive regular newsletters, and the informative prospectus and annual report to parents make clear the school’s aims. Occasional meetings have been run to inform parents about aspects of the school’s work but these have generally been poorly attended. In addition, a recent survey to discover parents’ views about induction arrangements for their children resulted in relatively few responses.

p.18

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

32. Parents have the usual range of formal and informal opportunities to discuss their children’s progress through the year. When the school was last inspected, pupils’ written reports did not provide their parents with a balanced picture of their achievements. This is no longer the case, and the reports now clearly identify pupils’ areas for improvement as well as their strengths. Parental support in classrooms is not common, although parents do help with running clubs, accompanying educational visits and helping in the library. The Friends’ Association provides considerable additional funds for school improvement through a variety of events.

p.18

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

33. Community links are strong and benefit pupils’ learning. Good use is made of the local area in history and geography, and links with the church are particularly strong. Volunteers from the community and from a large local company provide regular help with reading, and this is well directed to meet the needs of pupils who would benefit from extra practice. Pupils are encouraged to contribute to the community as well as through charitable fund-raising activities, for example by distributing harvest gifts and singing at local carol concerts. Four school council members sit on the Mole Valley Junior Voice forum and this has involved the whole school in putting forward ideas for a brochure to promote local facilities for young people. This initiative is promoting citizenship very well. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 17 34. The parents and guardians of pupils with special educational needs are kept fully

p.18

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

informed when their child’s needs are first identified and, where relevant, at every subsequent stage of the Code of Practice. Most parents value the school’s efforts on their child’s behalf, attend the regular reviews of the child’s progress and contribute to the setting of new targets. When parents are unable to attend, the school ensures that they receive a copy of their child’s new targets. The school’s involvement in the Dorking School Pupil Support Partnership is proving valuable in terms of securing professional advice and support from relevant external agencies and specialists for its work with pupils with special educational needs. The school also has useful professional links with a local primary school which has ‘beacon’ status and which offers support on a consultancy basis.

p.19

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

35. Partnerships with other schools benefit pupils and staff. As part of the small schools’ group, activity weeks are planned in common, enabling schools to share resources and specialists in art or music to bring a fresh dimension to these subjects. Staff share training opportunities with others in the Deanery cluster. The links with secondary schools provide taster visits for the older pupils as well as the use of their sports, computer and language facilities and expertise.

p.19

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Overall, the leadership and management of the school are satisfactory . The acting headteacher has good leadership and management skills and is providing the school with a clear sense of direction. The work of the acting deputy headteacher is good but the roles of most subject co-ordinators are underdeveloped. School governance is satisfactory.

p.19

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• The acting headteacher promotes teamwork well and has already made improvements to the quality of education at the school. • The acting deputy headteacher fulfils her role well. • The leadership and management of provision for pupils with special educational needs are good. • Systematic and rigorous procedures for monitoring provision are not established in most subjects, largely because most co-ordinators have only recently taken on their roles.

p.19

COMMENTARY

36. The last inspection, in 1999, found that there were very good policies and plans for the school’s development. However, weaknesses in the school’s monitoring and evaluation procedures meant that these were not always implemented properly. There is evidence to suggest that the school increased the range of its monitoring activities following the inspection. Nevertheless, when the acting headteacher took on her role in September 2004, she identified the need to increase the rigour of classroom observations in order to judge the quality of teaching and learning, and to develop a stronger corporate awareness of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. In addition, with the acting deputy headteacher, she correctly believed that assessment procedures needed to improve so that pupils’ progress could be tracked more accurately.

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COMMENTARY

37. The acting headteacher has good leadership and management skills and has already had a beneficial impact. Soon after taking on her role, she arranged for two inspectors from the local education authority to observe teaching across the school, and made evaluations alongside these visitors. Teachers received pertinent feedback on the quality of their teaching, and the acting headteacher led well-focused meetings with the St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 18 staff to discuss whole-school issues which arose from the observations. As a result of these discussions, the acting headteacher has enabled teachers to visit other schools to observe teachers who have been identified as particularly effective by the local education authority. Following these visits, the acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher have worked together well to lead staff discussions about what had been seen and how it might affect the teaching in the school. In addition, common strategies

p.19

COMMENTARY

for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress in English and mathematics were agreed. The headteacher has analysed the results of statutory testing carefully and increased teachers’ awareness of what they show in relation to pupils’ achievement. During the second half of the autumn term 2004, with the help of the acting deputy, she has observed all teachers and provided well-focused feedback which has a beneficial impact on their professional development.

p.20

COMMENTARY

38. The effect of the observations, visits and staff discussions has been very positive. There have been improvements in elements of teachers’ planning and their teaching, in the quality of the learning environment and in the use of assessment to target those pupils who require additional support in English and mathematics. The acting headteacher has good interpersonal skills, fosters teamwork well, and is strongly committed to running a school where everyone matters. As a result, staff morale is good, and all are keen to make the school even more effective.

p.20

COMMENTARY

39. The school improvement plan was produced in the last academic year under the leadership of the previous headteacher. It is soundly organised and identifies a range of issues to be addressed, by 2006. In September 2004, the acting headteacher sensibly prioritised the most important issues for attention, and has ensured that detailed planning supports the proposed improvements in assessment and monitoring procedures.

p.20

COMMENTARY

40. The acting deputy headteacher provides a good role model for her colleague through her positive attitudes to change and her very good teaching skills. She works closely with the acting headteacher on strategic issues and is making a valuable contribution to the leadership and management of the school.

p.20

COMMENTARY

41. The acting headteacher is also the school’s special needs co-ordinator. She is effective in her role and has improved many aspects of special needs provision since the time of the last inspection. For example, a special needs register is now maintained and updated regularly, and all pupils identified as having special needs have individual action plans. Links with the parents of pupils with special educational needs have improved, as have links with professional agencies and external specialists involved in special needs work. The learning support assistants are now well trained, and systems are in place to ensure that pupils’ progress is monitored closely. All statutory requirements in regard to special needs provision are met.

p.20

COMMENTARY

42. The leadership and management of subject co-ordinators are generally underdeveloped, and most co-ordinators have only recently taken on their roles. Only in science are there sufficiently systematic and rigorous procedures for monitoring and evaluating pupils’ standards and the overall quality of provision. All co-ordinators willingly provide advice for their colleagues and are keen to develop their roles. While they have formulated action plans for their subjects, they are generally in weak positions to target areas for improvement with sufficient precision due to a lack of monitoring and evaluation information. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 19 43. The school’s policy for the performance management of teachers is being implemented effectively by the acting headteacher and the acting deputy. Teachers’ targets properly reflect whole school priorities and individual needs, and all staff have opportunities to

p.20

COMMENTARY

benefit from training courses. Formal procedures for the performance management of teaching assistants and non-teaching staff are not established but the acting headteacher has sensible plans to rectify this situation. Procedures for the induction of new staff, including newly qualified teachers, are sound.

p.21

COMMENTARY

44. The quality of financial planning is sound. Staffing costs are considered carefully by the governors, and the finance committee monitors spending efficiently. The school improvement plan is appropriately costed, and the governors soundly apply the principles of best value when making major spending decisions. Overall, the school makes effective use of its resources and provides good value for money.

p.21

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 486,100 Balance from previous year 23,274 Total expenditure 466,415 Balance carried forward to the next year 42,959 Expenditure per pupil 2,494

p.21

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

Governance 45. School governance is satisfactory. The governors are conscientious and have a strong commitment to the school. An appropriate range of committees is established and all provide sound support for the leadership and management of the school. The chair of governors visits very frequently, and keeps his finger on the pulse of the school through regular discussions with the acting headteacher. The governors have a sound awareness of the results of statutory testing, and the governor with specific responsibility for numeracy is well informed, having observed numeracy lessons across the school. The work of the literacy governor is less well developed and the governor with responsibility for special educational needs has only recently taken on her role. The governors are well aware of the school’s priorities for development but have not had a significant role in the creation or monitoring of the current improvement plan.

p.21

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

Statutory requirements are fully met, in contrast with the situation when the school was last inspected and the governors’ annual report to parents did not include all of the required information. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 20

p.21

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

46. All children are able to start in September in the reception class, and parents can opt for the younger children to start on a part-time basis until the term in which they are five years old. However, only two parents chose for their children to attend part-time last term. There is considerable variation in children’s standards on entry to the class but they are mainly a little above average. The majority of children have attended some form of pre-school provision.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

47. Overall, the quality of teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, although there are particular strengths in the promotion of children’s literacy and numeracy skills, as well as in their personal, social and emotional development. The quality of teaching and learning is not as high as when the school was last inspected, when it was very good. While the planning was exceptionally good in 1999, this is no longer the case. At present, teachers’ planning is satisfactory, overall. It is mainly good in relation to the development of children’s basic skills in literacy and numeracy. However, it is less effective in other areas of learning where the objectives of activities are not always clearly identified and limited reference is usually made to the specific learning needs of individuals or groups of children. The quality of the curriculum for St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 21

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

reception children is satisfactory, although children would benefit from more opportunities for their creative development. The accommodation is satisfactory, and children have ready access to a secure outside area.

p.23

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for children’s personal, social and cultural development is good .

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Well-established routines and good models of behaviour promote an orderly community. • Relationships between children and between children and adults are good and help children to be confident and secure. • More opportunities are needed for children to develop their initiative and decision- making skills.

p.23

Commentary

48. Children achieve well in their personal, social and emotional development. The teaching in the reception class helps the children to feel secure and to develop positive attitudes to learning. Strategies such as the selection of ‘VIPs’ to call out the register and lead the class into assembly give the children a sense of their own worth and an understanding of their growing capabilities. Children develop positive relationships with their peers and learn to take turns, share resources and work amicably in small groups. Opportunities to mix with older children who help them with reading and in the playground further serve to develop the children’s social skills.

p.23

Commentary

49. Through discussions, through assembly themes and through the teacher’s high expectations of them in regard to their behaviour, the children develop a good understanding of what constitutes appropriate behaviour, and what is right and wrong. They are taught to recognise their own feelings and to be aware of the consequences of their own behaviour – not only on others, but also on themselves. Relationships between the children and between adults and the children are good, and regular routines help to establish a work ethic which is maintained as children move through the school. Children work hard, take a pride in their achievements and behave very well indeed. They can all dress themselves and take care of their personal hygiene. However, they would benefit from further opportunities to use their own initiative, including by making their own decisions about the resources they might use, and by engaging in more stimulating role-play activities. Virtually all pupils are on course to

p.23

Commentary

meet the nationally expected standards in this important element of their development by the end of the reception year, and a significant minority will exceed these standards.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is good .

p.23

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• Basic literacy skills are taught systematically and well. • Children are making good progress in developing their speaking and listening, reading and writing skills.

p.23

COMMENTARY

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 22 50. Children achieve well in the development of their communication, language and literacy skills. Almost all the children interact well with one another, with their teacher and with the teaching assistant, and most are confident enough to answer questions addressed to the whole class. The most articulate children already give detailed answers to questions, choose their words carefully and express themselves very clearly. Most other children answer in simple but accurately formulated sentences, while a very few are still far from confident and reply only very briefly. All the children listen attentively and are able to remember, and follow, instructions.

p.24

COMMENTARY

51. Basic literacy skills are taught thoroughly and well. The children are introduced systematically to letters and their sounds. All can recognise the letters of the alphabet, and most also know the difference between the names of the letters and the sounds they represent. The majority of the children are able to work out some of the sounds made when various letters are combined, following regular English spelling patterns such as ‘qu’, ‘sh’, ‘ou’ and ‘oa’, and they use their knowledge of sounds to good effect to read, and to build, simple three letter words. The highest attaining children can already recognise many words on sight and are able to read simple books independently.

p.24

COMMENTARY

52. Almost all the children can write their own names and can compose suitable sentences to express their own ideas about what they have learned or to accompany their own illustrations. While most of the children still require some help from adults to record their ideas, most also make some attempts at writing independently. As is to be expected, at this early stage of development, their independent writing is often far from accurate. Nevertheless, they write in lines from left to right, leave spaces between ‘words’, and form most letters accurately. When asked, they can ‘reread’ what they have written; they clearly understand that writing is used to record and communicate ideas. The higher attaining children already use joined-up handwriting which is legible and fairly neat. They compose well-structured sentences which express their ideas clearly, and they are learning to use capital letters and full stops appropriately. They

p.24

COMMENTARY

spell most simple words accurately and use their knowledge of letter sounds to build other words which are at least recognisable, if not entirely accurate.

p.24

COMMENTARY

53. The children are making good progress in the initial stages of literacy as a result of systematic teaching which prepares them well for the early stages of the National Curriculum. Routine skills are taught thoroughly, and the children are given ample opportunities to practise what they have been taught. They are introduced to the world of the imagination by listening to well chosen stories. They also have some opportunities to engage in imaginative play, for example in the ‘shop’ and in the outdoor ‘tent’, although their use of imaginative language might usefully be enhanced by more stimulating opportunities for role-play and by increased interaction with adults. Nearly all children will meet the nationally expected standards in communication, language and literacy by the end of the reception year, and a significant minority will exceed these standards.

p.24

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

The provision for mathematical development is good .

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good teaching builds effectively on children’s earlier experiences. • The most capable children are not always given the extra challenge they need. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 23

p.24

Commentary

54. Children achieve well in the development of their mathematical understanding. Children’s mathematical understanding is successfully promoted by a good range of activities, many of which are practical and enable them to learn through direct experience. They make good progress in counting, early calculations and in their understanding of shape and measures.

p.25

Commentary

55. In the one lesson seen, most children made good progress in their understanding of number as a result of good teaching. The teacher provided children with clear guidance and structured the lesson so that their learning built appropriately on their prior knowledge and understanding. The children were eager to learn, taking turns and sharing the equipment successfully. They counted accurately and were getting to grips with the vocabulary of addition as they constructed towers and added two more bricks. However, the most capable children could have been extended further by more challenging tasks. During the inspection, children made sound use of their developing numeracy skills when role playing in the class shop. Virtually all children will meet the nationally expected standards in mathematical development by the end of the reception year, and a significant minority will exceed these standards.

p.25

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision for the development of children’s knowledge and understanding of the world is satisfactory .

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good opportunities are provided for children to develop their understanding about the passage of time. • In group work, children sometimes need more focused support from the teacher in order to challenge and develop their ideas.

p.25

Commentary

56. Overall, the quality of teaching is satisfactory in this area of children’s learning, and means that their progress and achievement are satisfactory. As a result, the vast majority of children are on course to meet the expected standards in this area of learning by the end of the reception year.

p.25

Commentary

57. Children’s knowledge and understanding of place is developing satisfactorily as a result of activities that are rooted firmly in their own experiences. For example, children have discussed the routes they take to school and what they see on their journeys. Regular visits to the computer suite benefit children’s ICT skills. They are able to use the mouse to draw and paint Chinese dragons and to use the text box to enter their names. Most also know how to control the printer and to close the program.

p.25

Commentary

58. In order to develop an understanding of the past and of the passage of time, the children are encouraged to talk about significant events in their own lives and about changes in the lives of the other people that they know. For example, they note the arrival of new babies within their own and other families and discuss ways in which they themselves have changed since they were born. They routinely use language St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 24 associated with the passage of time and with the changing dates and seasons, and they learn to organise events from stories and rhymes into chronological sequences.

p.25

Commentary

59. During the inspection, children made broadly satisfactory progress in developing their scientific understanding when experimenting, in small groups, with torches. They particularly enjoyed shining light through coloured acetates to create different effects. However, because the children were motivated and well behaved, they received very little support and guidance from the teacher. As a result, opportunities were missed to extend children’s learning through well-judged questions and suggestions.

p.26

Commentary

60. Most children demonstrate sound skills when using scissors and glue to make simple models. These skills were used appropriately during the inspection when children made Chinese kites but are sometimes utilised for tasks which provide them with limited opportunity to make a creative response to model making.

p.26

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for physical development is satisfactory .

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• A wide range of activities is provided to promote children’s physical development.

p.26

Commentary

61. Children’s sound physical skills were seen in individual and small group free play situations as well as a whole class physical education lesson. This information clearly shows that the vast majority of children will meet the early learning goals for physical development at the end of the reception year. Children’s achievement is satisfactory in relation to their physical development.

p.26

Commentary

62. Children have regular physical education lessons in the hall. In the lesson seen, teaching and learning were satisfactory with a strong emphasis on safety. Children thoroughly enjoyed the lesson as they climbed and balanced on the large apparatus, and made satisfactory progress in developing their control and co-ordination skills.

p.26

Commentary

63. There is a wide range of daily opportunities for children to play outside. In these sessions they demonstrate sound co-ordination when using balls for kicking, throwing and catching and using wheeled toys. They worked well together and shared equipment harmoniously. In the classroom, they show satisfactory levels of dexterity in activities such as painting, sticking and using construction kits.

p.26

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision for children’s creative development is satisfactory .

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• More stimulating and challenging opportunities need to be provided for pupils’ creative role-play. • Tasks are sometimes too prescribed to enable children to develop their creative skills.

p.26

COMMENTARY

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 25 64. While the provision made for children’s creative development is broadly satisfactory, there are areas for improvement. Although children are given opportunities for role- play, for example in the school shop, there is scope for the teacher to set up more stimulating and challenging situations for them to explore. In addition, when children are engaged in creative play, they would sometimes benefit from the brief, well-judged involvement of adults to spark their ideas. Children have regular opportunities to draw, paint and to create collage pictures, and their completed work generally demonstrates their satisfactory achievement. During the inspection, it was clear that children enjoyed artwork and they concentrated well. However, their creative development is restricted when the outcomes of their artwork are too prescribed by adults, including by providing

p.27

COMMENTARY

them with ready drawn images to use as the basis for their collage work, and when they are given photocopied pictures to colour. Children make satisfactory progress in developing their musical skills. They have access to a range of percussion instruments to experiment with, and enjoy using these to accompany the simple songs that they are taught. Overall, pupils’ achievement is just adequate in relation to their creative development. Most pupils are on course to meet the expected standards by the end of the reception year.

p.27

ENGLISH

The quality of provision in English is good .

p.27

MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• Pupils achieve well as a result of effective teaching. • Standards in speaking and listening are well above national expectations. • Standards in reading and writing are above national expectations. • Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. • Pupils’ language skills are developed well across the curriculum. • Library resources need updating and improving. • Teachers do not always provide sufficient guidance for pupils through their marking.

p.27

COMMENTARY

65. In Year 2 and Year 6, standards are well above national expectations in speaking and listening, and above national expectations in reading and writing. The best work seen in all age groups is of a very high standard, and few pupils fall below the standards expected nationally of pupils of the same age. The results of the standard assessment tests in Year 2 in 2004 were above the national average and in line with the results of similar schools in reading, and were well above the national average and above the results of similar schools in writing. In the national tests in Year 6 in English in 2004, the school’s results placed it in the top five per cent of schools nationally: all pupils attained at least the expected standard for their age, and more than half exceeded that standard. The school’s own monitoring systems indicate that the 2005 results may be slightly lower than those achieved in 2004. Inspection findings confirm this prediction,

p.27

COMMENTARY

although standards are still above national expectations both in Years 2 and 6. Overall, pupils of all abilities achieve well given their differing starting points. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards the literacy targets in their individual education plans. There are currently no pupils in the early stages of learning English as an additional language. However, the few from ethnic minority backgrounds for whom English is an additional language generally make good progress, and some achieve very well indeed. Inspection findings and the results of the national tests in 2004 show St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 26 evidence of a marked improvement in pupils’ performance in Year 2 since the time of the last inspection when standards were judged to be in line with national expectations in speaking and listening and in reading, and below average in writing. In Year 6, standards remain broadly similar to those found during the last inspection.

p.27

COMMENTARY

66. Pupils in all year groups listen attentively and remember what they are told. Most pupils speak Standard English clearly and accurately from an early age. They have the confidence to speak up during discussions, explain their ideas at some length if asked to do so, and are able to draw on a wide vocabulary. Through work in singing and the ‘performance’ of poetry, older pupils are also very aware of the human voice as an ‘instrument’, an awareness that enhances the quality of certain aspects of their work. Frequent opportunities to engage in discussions, ask questions, give explanations, analyse, develop arguments, read aloud and participate in role-play successfully develop pupils’ skills in speaking and listening for a wide range of purposes.

p.28

COMMENTARY

67. By the end of Year 2, pupils have a secure grounding in initial literacy. With very few exceptions, they have mastered a suitable range of skills to enable them to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases. They all have a good understanding of how stories are structured, and the higher attaining pupils readily find evidence in the text, for example to justify their ideas about the differing viewpoints of characters about events. Some lower attaining pupils experience difficulties using inference in this way, and the school has rightly identified this as an area for development. Almost all pupils in Year 6 read and understand fiction and non-fiction appropriate for their age, and higher attaining pupils chose to read challenging texts. They know the key features of different kinds of writing, and they experience little, if any, difficulty understanding texts related to their studies. They are capable of using dictionaries, thesauri and other

p.28

COMMENTARY

information sources, including the Internet, to find things out. They make concise but relevant notes, and they communicate their findings clearly in their own words.

p.28

COMMENTARY

68. The knowledge and understanding pupils acquire by talking analytically about what they read help them when they write. Most pupils develop the knowledge and understanding necessary to the match the style, structure and language of their own writing to an ever increasing variety of purposes. The majority are capable of producing neat and legible joined-up handwriting from an early age. By the time they are eleven, most pupils organise their writing in paragraphs, use punctuation and grammar correctly and spell most words accurately. Lower attaining pupils sometimes struggle to combine ideas coherently in complex sentences and are less secure in their understanding of punctuation, grammar and spelling than their peers.

p.28

COMMENTARY

69. The teaching of English is mainly good and occasionally very good. All the teachers make strong links between speaking and listening, reading and writing in the work they plan, a practice which has a beneficial effect on pupils’ understanding of the ways in which language can be used. The teachers’ good questioning skills and the ample opportunities they give pupils to practise and consolidate what has been learned are further strengths. ICT is used well to support pupils’ learning in English. In the best teaching seen, pupils were involved in evaluating their own and others’ responses to the tasks set and received very good feedback from the teacher about strengths and weaknesses in their performance. In lessons that were satisfactory, rather than better, the pace of learning was a little slow and teachers’ questions were not always used effectively to check pupils’ understanding or to challenge their thinking.

p.28

COMMENTARY

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 27 70. Assessment is used to good effect to identify, and provides support for those pupils who have special educational needs, and all those who would benefit from time to time from various intervention programmes. Effective monitoring systems have recently been introduced which enable the staff to track the progress of all pupils as they move through the school. The quality of teachers’ marking is satisfactory overall, but is variable. In Years 5 and 6, pupils benefit from marking which provides them with clear guidance about how to improve. However, this is not always the case for the younger pupils.

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COMMENTARY

71. Leadership and management of English are satisfactory. The subject co-ordinator has only recently assumed full responsibility for her role. She has worked closely with the acting headteacher and with the literacy consultant from the local education authority, for example in developing group reading targets for year groups. She is aware of some strengths and weaknesses in provision and in pupils’ performance, but has had few opportunities to monitor teaching and learning directly by observing lessons and therefore has only a limited overview of the work of the school. However, the acting headteacher has a clear view of the quality of teaching in the subject, through her lesson observations, including those alongside inspectors from the local education authority.

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COMMENTARY

72. A new library has been recently created as a result of new building. However, while this is well organised and spacious, there is still limited book provision in the library – reflecting the situation when the school was last inspected.

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Language and literacy across the curriculum

73. Pupils use their language and literacy skills well across the curriculum. All teachers encourage pupils to talk about their learning in other subjects, and they consciously plan activities involving reading for information, note-making and other forms of writing. For example, pupils undertake research in history, collating information from different sources and producing summaries of their own. All teachers successfully develop pupils’ vocabulary. They make sure their pupils know, and understand, the specialist vocabulary needed to work effectively in all subjects. Most pupils apply their language and literacy skills well when using ICT, for example to draft, edit and publish their writing.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well and standards are above national expectations in Years 2 and 6. • Teaching and learning are good. • There are good systems for checking pupils’ progress. • Pupils are not always clear about what they have to do to improve.

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Commentary

74. Standards in Year 2 and Year 6 are above national expectations and reflect pupils’ good achievement. All pupils make good progress, including the most capable, those with special educational needs and those from ethnic minority backgrounds who speak St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 28 English as an additional language. There are no significant differences between the achievements of boys and girls.

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Commentary

75. Current standards in Year 2 reflect the statutory test results in 2004 which were above the national average and in line with the results of similar schools. Standards in Year 6 are a little lower than in the last academic year, when the test results were well above the national average and were in line with the results of schools where pupils achieved similarly when in Year 2. The current standards in Years 2 and 6 are similar to those found when the school was last inspected. However, the most capable pupils underachieved in 1999 because they were given tasks that were too easy. This is no longer the case.

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Commentary

76. Pupils explore a good variety of calculation strategies and acquire a confident recall of number facts including multiplication tables. Almost all pupils in Year 2 have a good understanding of the value of each digit in numbers up to 999. They estimate and measure in centimetres and grams with good accuracy and can describe the main features of common two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. By Year 6, pupils deal confidently with fractions, decimals, percentages and negative numbers. They calculate perimeter and area accurately and handle data well. Across the school, pupils make good progress when solving mathematical problems.

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Commentary

77. The quality of teaching and learning are good. Teachers know exactly what they want pupils to achieve and share this information with their class pupils at the start of each lesson. They have secure subject knowledge and provide pupils with clear explanations. As a result, pupils understand what is expected of them and settle promptly to their tasks. Teachers plan their lessons well, and make effective use of the guidance provided by the National Numeracy Strategy. Across the school, teachers ensure that mathematical vocabulary is continually reinforced. In most classes, teaching is supported well by the use of ICT. In Year 6, for example, pupils’ interest was captured from the outset by the teacher’s confident use of the interactive whiteboard for demonstrations and modelling. They remained on task throughout the lesson, working enthusiastically with their partners. Positive attitudes to mathematics

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Commentary

and very good relationships between teachers and pupils were evident in all classes. These make a powerful contribution to the quality of learning. Although no unsatisfactory lessons were seen, a minority of lessons were judged to be satisfactory, rather than better. These lessons moved at a rather slow pace, and this restricted the progress of some pupils.

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Commentary

78. There are effective procedures for checking how well pupils are doing, both on a day- to-day basis and as they move through the school. As a result, teachers are well aware of pupils’ achievements, and this helps to ensure that work is well matched to their individual needs. However, while teachers’ marking is generally satisfactory, opportunities are sometimes missed to provide pupils with feedback about how to do better.

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Commentary

79. The leadership and management of mathematics are just adequate and in need of further development. This is understandable since the subject leader has only been in post since November 2004. However, she has good mathematical knowledge and skills, and is well equipped to lead the subject effectively. Already, she has drawn up a useful action plan to guide future developments in the subject.

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Mathematics across the curriculum

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 29 80. Satisfactory use is made of mathematics to support pupils’ learning across the curriculum. For example, in Year 2, pupils’ awareness and understanding of pattern and shape is extended when producing geometric paintings, and pupils make sound use of tables and graphs to record the results of their scientific investigations in most classes.

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SCIENCE

The quality of provision is satisfactory .

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MAIN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• Science teaching is good in Years 5 and 6. • Pupils with special educational needs are well supported and make good progress, as a result. • The most capable pupils sometimes mark time because their work is too easy. • Pupils’ progress is not tracked properly. • Scientific vocabulary is introduced and reinforced well.

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Commentary

81. Pupils’ standards in science are a little above national expectations in Years 2 and 6, and represent satisfactory achievement. Current standards are similar to those found when the school was last inspected. However, they are lower than in the last academic year in Year 2, when the statutory teacher assessments were very high in relation to the results of all schools and were well above the average results of similar schools. They are also lower than those found in Year 6 in 2004, when the results of the national tests were well above the national average but below the results of schools where pupils achieved similarly when in Year 2. The school attributes the lower standards to a reduced percentage of very capable pupils in the current Years 2 and 6 classes.

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Commentary

82. Most pupils make satisfactory progress in science, and those with special educational needs make good progress as a result of the effective support they receive. The progress made by the most capable pupils is just adequate, overall. While these pupils do well in Year 6, they sometimes mark time in lessons in other year groups. There are no significant differences between the current standards of boys and girls, and the few pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds do at least as well as their peers.

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Commentary

83. In Year 2, pupils can identify a range of appliances which use electricity and are aware of the dangers associated with mains electricity. They can make simple electrical circuits, and show these in clear diagrams. Year 2 pupils understand that sounds get fainter as they move away from a source, and know a range of detailed information about the human ear. In Year 6, pupils have a good understanding about micro- organisms. They are aware that these can move from one food source to another and are able to explain how they know that yeast is living. During the inspection, Year 6 pupils made good progress when planning an investigation into the rate at which certain solids dissolve in water, and demonstrated a sound understanding of the principle of fair testing.

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Commentary

84. The quality of teaching in science ranges from satisfactory to good, and is satisfactory, overall. As a result, pupils generally make sound progress in their learning in the subject. The most effective teaching observed was in Years 5 and 6, where the teachers knew just when to intervene with skilful questions to challenge and support St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 30 pupils as they planned their investigations, and when to stand back and allow pupils to grapple with problems themselves. All teachers have secure subject knowledge and ensure that scientific vocabulary is introduced and reinforced effectively during lessons. They provide clear explanations, manage pupils’ behaviour very well and have good organisational skills. In addition, they provide good support for pupils with special educational needs, often with the help of teaching assistants. In some lessons which are satisfactory, overall, there are areas for improvement. Sometimes, there is too

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Commentary

much teacher talk and too little pupil activity, and lessons are so prescribed that pupils have insufficient opportunities to make decisions, for example by developing their own hypotheses and devising their own simple experiments to test their ideas. Teachers’ questioning skills occasionally need to probe pupils’ understanding more deeply, and the most capable pupils are not always sufficiently challenged by their work so tend to coast through some lessons.

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Commentary

85. Pupils’ skills in English are generally promoted well in science. They are expected to use the correct scientific vocabulary and to use clear expression when writing up their work. Sound use is made of pupils’ mathematical skills, including through tables and graphs to show the results of their experiments. Overall, the use of ICT is satisfactory, and teachers are being increasingly alert to opportunities to utilise pupils’ developing skills in the subject in their science lessons.

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Commentary

86. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. Sound monitoring procedures have enabled the conscientious co-ordinator to provide useful feedback to her colleagues and to improve the quality of planning for the subject. All teachers make regular assessments of pupils’ achievement, at the end of units of work. However, these are not sufficiently related to National Curriculum criteria and make it difficult to track pupils’ progress as they move through the school. The co-ordinator has sensible plans to rectify this situation which also existed when the school was last inspected.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils are making good progress in the subject, and standards are rising. • The quality of teaching is good and enables pupils to achieve well. • There have been good improvements since the last inspection. • There is increasing use of ICT to support learning in other subjects.

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Commentary

87. Standards in Year 2 and Year 6 are in line with national expectations. They have improved since the last inspection, when computers were underused and standards were below the expected levels. Current standards represent satisfactory achievement. However, recent improvements in resources and in teachers’ confidence and expertise in the subject means that pupils are now making good progress, across the school. As a result, standards are rising.

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Commentary

88. Pupils’ good progress is evident in Year 2 when they make effective use of a painting program. They select and use colours and carefully control a variety of tools and techniques to create attractive designs based on the work of the artist Mondrian. They are extending their understanding of control technology by learning to program floor St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 31 robots. In Year 4, pupils learn about the advantages of using a computer to sort information when they create a tree diagram as an introduction to their work on branching databases. Year 5 pupils make good progress when working with text and images in their PowerPoint presentation about the Victorians. In Year 6, pupils’ increased their skills during the inspection when creating a spreadsheet to help them to keep to a £50 budget for their class party. All pupils are enthusiastic learners and are eager to explain what they have learned and what they can do. Pupils with special

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Commentary

educational needs make good progress in ICT, and there are no significant differences between the standards reached by boys and girls in the subject. The progress of the most capable pupils is satisfactory, overall, although they occasionally mark time in lessons when they need more challenging tasks.

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Commentary

89. Teaching and learning are good. Staff are now competent and confident users of ICT. They are keen to try out new equipment and quick to see its value. Resources are good, and recent purchases include digital projectors and interactive whiteboards. In each of the lessons seen, tasks were carefully explained and demonstrated. Good support, speedy resolution of difficulties and the opportunity for hands-on practice are ensuring that pupils make good progress. National guidance has been adopted to support teachers’ planning, and this ensures that weaknesses in the coverage of some elements of the subject, identified in the last inspection, have been rectified. Assessment procedures are satisfactory, and teachers carefully check pupils’ achievements at the end of each unit of work.

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Commentary

90. There is evidence of sound leadership and management of the subject by the previous co-ordinator. The current co-ordinator has only recently taken on the role and, understandably, has yet to develop a clear overview of provision.

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

91. Sound use is made of ICT to support pupils’ learning across the curriculum, and there are clear indications that its use is increasing. A framework of possible links with other subjects has been drawn up and teachers are beginning to build this into their planning. Good use is already being made of the interactive whiteboards as teaching tools, and ICT is often used well by pupils for the drafting, redrafting, and editing of their writing. In addition, there is evidence of pupils using art programs, data handling in mathematics and control work in science. CD-ROMs and supervised use of the Internet enable pupils to carry out research in geography and history.

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HUMANITIES

92. It is not possible to make overall judgements about provision in geography or history , since only one lesson was seen in each subject due to timetabling arrangements. However, a careful examination of pupils’ completed work, a study of teachers’ planning and discussions with subject co-ordinators mean that some key judgements can be made.

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HUMANITIES

93. In geography , insufficient evidence was available to judge pupils’ standards and achievement in Year 6. However, a good deal of completed work was available for examination in Year 2, and this clearly shows that these pupils are achieving well in the subject. As a result, standards are above national expectations in Year 2, reflecting the situation when the school was last inspected. Year 2 pupils have made good progress when developing geographical skills, and are able to use the correct vocabulary when St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 32 describing localities, such as the seaside or the fictional Isle of Struay. Pupils’ good language and literacy skills make a strong contribution to their work in geography.

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HUMANITIES

94. The single lesson observed, in Year 4, demonstrated good teaching. As a result, pupils made good progress in developing their understanding of how the environment is affected by people. The teacher made good use of digital images during the lesson and successfully promoted a lively discussion in which pupils were keen to offer their opinions about the recent development of the local sports centre.

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HUMANITIES

95. The subject fully meets statutory requirements, and pupils benefit from fieldwork and visits to places of geographical interest in the locality. The co-ordinator is enthusiastic about the subject and willingly provides advice for her colleagues. However, sufficiently systematic and rigorous procedures for monitoring and evaluating pupils’ standards and the quality of teaching and learning are not established.

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HUMANITIES

96. In history , an extensive amount of written work of good quality has been produced by pupils in Years 3 to 6, and there is ample evidence to show that pupils’ standards are above national expectations in Year 6. Similar standards were found in Year 6 when the school was last inspected. However, there was insufficient evidence of pupils’ completed work to allow a secure judgement to be made about the standards attained by pupils in Year 2.

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HUMANITIES

97. Pupils in Year 6 demonstrate good levels of knowledge and understanding about many aspects of life in ancient Greece. Their written work shows that they have an extensive knowledge of differences between the Greeks and the Spartans, particularly in regard to politics, education and the role of women. They have studied, and understood, how Athens developed from a monarchy to an oligarchy and finally to a democracy, and they clearly understand the meaning of the terms used. They have studied Greek myths and legends and are able to recount them in considerable detail, explaining the underlying messages or morals where these exist. In individual project books, the pupils refer to significant dates and events, develop well-constructed timelines, and collate information from a number of sources. Their work is well organised and, sometimes, very beautifully presented. All the pupils make some use of ICT as a

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HUMANITIES

research tool, and to enhance their work by the use of graphics, word-processing and editing facilities. Work of a good standard was evident in the lesson and written work seen on the Victorians in Year 5, and also in the detailed studies of the Romans in Year 3 and the Tudors in Year 4.

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HUMANITIES

98. The teaching was good in the single lesson seen where a well-chosen video recording provided valuable evidence of similarities and differences in education in Victorian times and today. The teacher used the interactive whiteboard very effectively to register pupils’ emerging views so that, by the end of the lesson, all the pupils benefited from the sum total of their very detailed and perceptive observations. The full range of evidence shows that teachers routinely plan opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their literacy skills in history, for example by writing to empathise with a kitchen-maid at the mercy of a bossy cook in Victorian times. Some writing of this kind clearly derives from involvement in activities such as role-play, and there is evidence to show that visits to places of historical interest also enrich pupils’ experience of history. The subject fully meets statutory requirements.

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HUMANITIES

99. The leadership and management of history need further development. The subject co- ordinator is new to her role and has had little opportunity to monitor standards or the St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 33 quality of provision across the school. School resources for history are adequate, and the school makes good use of additional resources, including artefacts, on loan from Dorking Museum. The history books in the school library are used to good effect to develop pupils’ research skills but many books are old and rather dated in their format.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

100. It is not possible to judge the overall quality of provision in art and design, design and technology, physical education and music , because too few lessons were observed in these subjects due to timetabling arrangements. However, pupils’ completed work was carefully examined in art and design and design and technology, and pupils’ singing was heard in assemblies. In addition, discussions were held with subject co-ordinators and a range of school documentation was scrutinised.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

101. In art and design , pupils’ standards are above national expectations in Year 2, reflecting pupils’ good achievement. In Year 6, pupils’ standards are in line with national expectations, and show pupils’ satisfactory achievement in this subject. When the school was last inspected, standards were above national expectations in Years 2 and 6. In Year 1, pupils make sound progress when creating images using simple printing techniques, while Year 2 pupils have made vibrant weavings and have achieved well when making interesting designs using batik. They have learned about the work of Mondrian and have made careful painted interpretations of his pictures. In a popular after-school art club, some pupils from Years 3 and 4 have achieved well when drawing portraits, and have learned to use shading effectively. Year 4 pupils demonstrate sound achievement when creating mosaic pictures, and Year 5 pupils

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

have satisfactory colour mixing skills. In Year 6, pupils’ interpretations of faces, using paint and pastels, are broadly satisfactory for their ages.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

102. While it is not possible to judge the quality of teaching in art and design, pupils’ completed work shows that it is enabling pupils to make good progress in Years 1 and 2 and satisfactory progress in the older classes. Teachers’ planning shows that statutory requirements are met. There are some examples of good art and design work made by pupils as part of the school’s annual ‘arts week’. For example, during the African focus for the week in Summer 2004, Year 2 pupils made very effective prints and batik designs, based on African art.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

103. The leadership and management of art and design are satisfactory but have scope for improvement. The co-ordinator has a sound overview of teachers’ planning, and willingly provides advice for her colleagues. However, procedures for monitoring and evaluating pupils’ standards and achievements are not sufficiently rigorous. As a result, the co-ordinator is not in a strong position to identify and target areas for improvement with sufficient accuracy.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

104. In design and technology , pupils’ standards are broadly in line with national expectations in Years 2 and 6, and represent satisfactory achievement. When the school was last inspected, standards were above national expectations in Years 2 and 6. In Year 1, pupils demonstrate satisfactory standards when making moving vehicles which incorporate a simple lever or sliding mechanism. Year 2 pupils have a reasonable understanding of how simple mechanisms are related to moving vehicles, and use sound joining skills to construct rollers from cardboard cylinders and circles. No evidence of pupils’ completed work in design and technology was available for examination in Years 3 and 4. However, in Year 5, pupils are able to cut and join wood to form a chassis for their model vehicles, and know how to strengthen corners with St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 34 triangles of cardboard. In Year 6, pupils have made interesting designs for model

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

bridges, although some are not sufficiently precise about how materials will be joined. Their finished bridges are strongly constructed and show their sound making skills.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

105. While it is not possible to judge the quality of teaching in design and technology, pupils’ completed work suggests that it is enabling pupils to make broadly satisfactory progress in the subject. Teachers’ planning shows that statutory requirements are met.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

106. At present, there is no co-ordinator for the subject, and the previous co-ordinator left the school in autumn 2004. Systematic procedures for monitoring and evaluating pupils’ standards and achievement are not securely established.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

107. In music , no lessons were observed. However, pupils’ singing in assemblies is good. They sing with a secure control of pitch, use dynamics effectively and have very clear diction. There is a choir, which includes 44 pupils, and a small orchestra. In addition, there is a popular after-school percussion club and specialist music tuition for some pupils in piano, violin and guitar.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

108. In physical education , pupils achieve well in swimming. Usually, pupils are able to swim at least the required 25 metres by the time they leave the school and many can swim more than 100 metres. Teams and individuals represent the school in many sports and compete with considerable success in local and national competitions.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

109. It is quite clear that sport and physical education are important features of the school. This is reflected in the nationally recognised Active Mark which was awarded to the school in 2003. The physical education curriculum is considerably enhanced by a very wide range of extra-curricular activities. They include rugby, football, squash, swimming, cross-country, rounders, cricket, athletics and infant games. They attract great interest from pupils throughout the school and reflect the strong commitment of the teachers.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

110. In the one lesson seen, good teaching enabled pupils in Years 4 and 5 to achieve well. They thoroughly enjoyed the games lesson and sustained high levels of activity throughout. They listened attentively, followed instructions closely and practised hard to improve their techniques. As a result they made good progress in the basic skills of rounders and tennis.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

111. The subject leader is very enthusiastic about the subject and ensures that it has a high profile in the school. However, while she gains some insight into standards across the school through her involvement in after-school clubs, she has not been able to carry out any formal monitoring of teaching and learning.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION (PSHE) AND CITIZENSHIP

The quality of provision for personal, social and health education and citizenship is good .

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION (PSHE) AND CITIZENSHIP

• Education in personal relationships is a strength of provision. • The school council works well: pupils have a voice in the school and in the local community. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 35 • Good provision is made for pupils’ health, physical wellbeing and safety.

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COMMENTARY

112. The school’s provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education and citizenship is wide-ranging and extends far beyond the timetabled lessons designated for PSHE. Pupils respond well to the many strands of provision and the evidence for their good achievement can be found in their self-confidence, the quality of the relationships they establish, their very good behaviour and the activities they pursue.

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COMMENTARY

113. From the time they enter the reception class to the time they leave the school, the pupils are encouraged to develop self-confidence and to behave responsibly. All the teachers operate systems whereby pupils’ achievements are recognised within their classes. In special weekly assemblies, the pupils’ good work and good deeds are rewarded more publicly when they receive certificates and enjoy the warm approval of the whole school community. The practice of nominating pupils as VIPs or ‘special people’ for short periods of time allows all, in their turn, to get the recognition of their peers and to enjoy a short taste of what it means to be a leader. The provision of a rich programme of extra-curricular activities helps the pupils to develop and pursue personal interests and enthusiasms and to set themselves challenging goals in areas of their life beyond the purely academic. All teachers allocate routine jobs to the pupils

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COMMENTARY

in their classes, while older pupils develop a more wide-ranging view of what it means to be responsible, for example by reading with younger pupils and, as members of the playground squad, by monitoring activities and helping other pupils in the playground. The school council draws together pupils from all age groups. Through its work and its procedures, the pupils have a genuine voice and are able to initiate changes for the better in the school, while their further involvement with the Mole Valley council introduces them to democratic processes and debates about issues affecting the wider community.

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COMMENTARY

114. Education in personal relationships is a strength of the provision and is powerfully promoted within the school’s Catholic mission. Timetabled discussions in every year group reinforce the spiritual, moral and social themes covered in religious education and in assemblies. They give pupils the opportunity to share their own feelings as well as to learn to respect others. In lessons, for example when leading discussions about the characters in stories or asking the pupils to write about people from the past in history, teachers focus on human relationships to good effect.

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COMMENTARY

115. All pupils learn the importance of rules in society at an early age, for example by helping to develop rules for their class and by learning to comply with the school rules and the playground rules. They are taught to recognise that rights are accompanied by responsibilities, not just in family life and life in school, but also in the wider world. For example, pupils in Year 4 are taught to recognise the moral responsibilities of those who work in the media, including those whose prime motive is to sell products through mass advertising. Strong behaviour policies and universally high expectations by all members of the staff ensure that pupils have a clear understanding of what is appropriate behaviour. The concept of acting as a good citizen is further enhanced by involving pupils in helping those less fortunate than themselves, for example by raising funds for charities. Pupils’ awareness of themselves as global citizens is beginning to

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COMMENTARY

develop. For example, the pupils themselves, through the school council, decided to raise funds for victims of the recent tsunami disaster in South East Asia. In addition, specially planned events such as arts weeks, with their multicultural dimension, raise St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 36 pupils’ awareness of their place within the wider world and engender respect for cultures and traditions other than their own.

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COMMENTARY

116. Good provision is made to help pupils develop a healthy, safe lifestyle. Appropriate programmes of sex education and drugs awareness comply with the guidance set out by the Catholic diocese. The school is working hard to achieve the ‘Healthy Schools Award’ in regard to the promotion of healthy eating, and has already received the ‘Activemark’ for its work in promoting fitness through physical activity. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School - 37

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 3 Pupils’ achievement 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 2 Attendance 4 Attitudes 2 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 2 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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