Whitnash Primary School

WHITNASH PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 4 th - 7 th July 2005

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WHITNASH 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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WHITNASH 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. Whitnash Primary School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 4 - 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 142 School address: Langley Road Whitnash Leamington Spa Warwickshire Postcode: CV31 2EX Telephone number: (01926) 426 773 Fax number: (01926) 337 755 Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Mrs J Falp Date of previous inspection: 7 th - 10 th December 1998

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school is situated in Whitnash on the southern side of Leamington Spa in an area in which there is a mix of owner-occupied and rented accommodation. With 74 boys and 68 girls on roll, the school is below average in size. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage and about 25 per cent are from a variety of minority ethnic backgrounds, mostly Asian or mixed race. Ten per cent of the pupils have English as an additional language and four per cent are at an early stage of learning English. The main first languages of these pupils are Punjabi, Urdu and Arabic.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Twenty-four per cent of the pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals, which is broadly average. Thirty-one per cent have special educational needs, including two pupils with statements of special educational needs, which is above average. Pupils’ special educational needs cover a wide range, but are mostly moderate learning difficulties or in the area of speech and communication. There is significant movement of pupils in and out of the school other than at the usual time of joining or leaving. Last school year this amounted to 35 per cent turnover of pupils.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Most, but not all, children have had pre-school education before entering the Reception Year. Overall, children’s attainment on entry is below the level expected when they start school, and it is weak in communication, language and literacy.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The headteacher had been in post for two years when the school was last inspected in December 1998. All the other teachers have been appointed since the last inspection. The present deputy headteacher was appointed in September 2004, following a period of two years during which the school was without a deputy. There has been a higher-than-usual turnover of teachers this school year.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school gained achievement awards for improvement in the National Curriculum test results in 2002 and 2003. In 2002, it was identified as being in the top 100 improving schools. Whitnash Primary School - 2

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

20782 Mrs A M Grainger Lead inspector English Art and design Music Physical education 8992 Mr J Vischer Lay inspector 23385 Ms S Gerred Team inspector Areas of learning in the Foundation Stage Science Design and technology Religious education 32596 Mrs G Phillips Team inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology Geography History Special educational needs English as an additional language

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

The inspection contractor was: Tribal Education 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). Whitnash Primary School - 3

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 7 - 10

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 7 - 10

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 11 - 16

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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Whitnash Primary School is failing to provide its pupils with an acceptable standard of

education , although it provides well for children in the Reception Year. Unsatisfactory teaching and an inadequate curriculum result in significant underachievement. The standards now in Year 6 are below the level expected nationally in English, mathematics, science, information and communication technology (ICT), and religious education. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory, as is the value for money provided by the school.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• Significant underachievement in Years 1 to 6. • Unsatisfactory teaching that takes too little account of pupils’ differing needs. • Weaknesses in the curriculum that result in thin and patchy coverage of subjects. • Insufficient attention to pupils’ spiritual and cultural development. • Unsatisfactory leadership and management, in particular the lack of a concerted approach to raising standards through checking and improving provision. • The good start given to children in the Reception Year. • The good relationships among pupils and between pupils and adults. • The effective care for pupils’ personal welfare.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

The school has made unsatisfactory progress since its last inspection in December 1998. Although there was a period during which standards improved, they dipped in 2004 and there is now significant underachievement among pupils in Years 1 to 6. Teaching, the curriculum, and the promotion of pupils’ personal development are not as good as they were. There are now weaknesses in the leadership and management of the school that were not apparent at the last inspection. Many of the areas identified in 1998 as needing improvement have not moved on well enough, including the use of assessment and the provision for ICT. However, significant developments have taken place in the provision for Reception children. Provision for design and technology has developed satisfactorily.

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In accordance with section 13 (7) of the School Inspections Act 1996 I am of the opinion, and

HMCI agrees, that special measures are required in relation to this school.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2002 2003 2004 2004 English D D E* E mathematics D C E E science E C E C Key: A − well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average; E* − lowest five per cent of schools. Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory. Standards in the present Year 6 are below the level expected nationally in English and mathematics, and well below this level in science. The difference between the present standards in English and mathematics and those indicated by the 2004 test results is simply a reflection of natural variations in the ability of year groups. The standards of the current Year 2 are below the level expected nationally in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Whitnash Primary School - 5 Many pupils in Years 1 to 6 are underachieving. The overall achievement of pupils now in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory in English and mathematics, but achievement is unsatisfactory in these subjects in Years 3 to 6. Achievement in science is unsatisfactory overall throughout Years 1 to 6. Pupils are also underachieving in ICT and in religious education. The standards in ICT are below the level expected nationally in Years 2 and 6. In religious education, the standards are below the

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

expectations set by the locally agreed syllabus. Although not enough evidence was gathered to make secure judgements on standards in other subjects, there is evidence of underachievement in geography and history. Underachievement is a direct result of weaknesses in teaching and the curriculum.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

In contrast to the situation in Years 1 to 6, children do well in the Reception Year because they are taught well and have a good range of learning opportunities. From their below-average starting points, they reach the standards expected for their age except in early reading and writing. Nevertheless, achievement is good in reading and writing as these are particular areas of weakness in the children’s attainment on entry. There is no significant variation in the achievement of different groups of pupils in the different year groups.

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Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural

development, is unsatisfactory overall. Not enough is done to promote spiritual awareness or understanding of pupils’ own and other cultures. However, moral and social development is satisfactory and the outcomes are evident in pupils’ satisfactory attitudes and behaviour. Pupils get on well with each other and with the adults in school. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The overall quality of education, including the teaching, is unsatisfactory. Teaching and the range of learning opportunities are not well enough matched to pupils’ differing needs in Years 1 to 6. There is thin and patchy coverage of subjects such as science, religious education, geography and history Practical and investigative skills are given too little attention in science and mathematics. Pupils have fewer opportunities than in most schools to use computers and to develop their competence in ICT. There are no classroom computers for pupils in Years 1 to 6.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The children in the Reception Year are provided with a good and stimulating range of learning opportunities covering all the recommended areas of learning. The teaching in the Reception Year is good. Staff work well together to meet all the children’s needs and to include them fully in all activities.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The care for pupils’ personal welfare is good. Links with parents and other schools support learning satisfactorily but there are few links with the community to enrich the opportunities provided.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The leadership and management of the school are unsatisfactory. The pace of improvement is too slow even when major areas are recognised as needing development. The headteacher and staff do not take a rigorous approach to raising standards. There is inadequate checking of the effectiveness of provision. Governance is satisfactory overall. Governors have a reasonable awareness of the school’s main strengths and weaknesses but they do not do enough to provide the senior leaders with constructive challenge. Statutory requirements are met.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The few parents who made their views known are mostly satisfied with the school. The vast majority of pupils enjoy school, although those in Years 3 to 6 are less positive about school than those in the Reception Year to Year 2. Whitnash Primary School - 6

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

• Eradicate the underachievement in Years 1 to 6. • Ensure that teaching takes full account of pupils’ differing needs. • Rectify the weaknesses in the curriculum to ensure proper coverage of subjects. • Improve the attention given to pupils’ spiritual and cultural development. • Improve leadership and management and ensure that there is a concerted approach to raising standards through checking and improving provision. Whitnash Primary School - 7

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

Pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory overall, although it is good in the Reception Year. Standards in Year 6 are below the level expected nationally in almost all aspects of pupils’ school work, including English, mathematics, science, information and communication technology (ICT) and religious education.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children get off to a good start in the Reception Year. • There is significant underachievement in Years 1 to 6, most particularly in Years 4 and 5. • Pupils’ results in the National Curriculum tests at the end of Years 2 and 6 dipped in 2004.

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Commentary

1. In almost all years since the last inspection, pupils’ results in the National Curriculum tests at the end of Years 2 and 6 have been below the national average. There have been occasions when they have been well below the national average. In 2000, they were in the lowest five per cent of schools nationally in most areas tested. Having reached this very low level in 2000, the results picked up and, in Year 6 in particular, standards started to improve at a better rate than nationally. However, this improvement has not been sustained. In 2004, the results dipped in both Year 2 and Year 6, with a decline in the writing results having started in Year 2 in 2003.

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Commentary

2. The results in the National Curriculum tests in 2004 were well below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2. At the end of Year 6, they were well below the national average in mathematics and science, and in the lowest five per cent of schools nationally in English. Teachers assessed pupils’ performance in science as well below the national average at the end of Year 2.

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Commentary

3. Even when the 2004 results are compared with those of similar schools, pupils’ performance is well below average. It is only in mathematics in Year 2, and in science in Year 6, that a better picture is seen. Set against the performance of other schools with pupils from similar backgrounds, the end of Year 2 mathematics results were average. Similarly, compared with the performance of other schools with pupils who had similar attainment at the end of Year 2, the Year 6 results were average in science.

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Commentary

4. The standard of school work of the pupils presently in Years 2 and 6 is below the level expected nationally in English and mathematics. In science, it is below the level expected in Year 2 and well below the level expected in Year 6. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall in reading, writing and mathematics in Years 1 and 2. In most years, pupils start Year 1 with overall standards below the level expected for their age in reading and writing. The pupils now in Year 2 also entered Year 1 with attainment in mathematics below the level expected. Although the pupils now in Year 2 have progressed satisfactorily in relation to where they started Year 1, there is a lack of ambition in the teaching, which prevents them from doing better.

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Commentary

5. In Years 3 to 6, achievement is unsatisfactory overall in English, mathematics and science, even though the pupils now in Year 6 have made satisfactory progress from where they started in Year 3. The most significant underachievement in English and mathematics is in Whitnash Primary School - 8 Years 4 and 5 where the teaching is unsatisfactory and insufficient account is taken of the pupils’ differing needs. There is also some underachievement in Years 3 and 6 when the most capable pupils are not well enough challenged. In science, achievement is unsatisfactory in Years 2 to 6 overall, although the start given in Year 1 is satisfactory.

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Commentary

6. Standards in ICT are below the level expected nationally in Years 2 and 6. These standards represent a lack of improvement in Year 6, and a decline in Year 2 since the last inspection. Standards are held down by pupils’ ICT experience being restricted to weekly skills lessons. Pupils are not given the necessary opportunities to develop their competence in ICT at other times.

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Commentary

7. The standards in religious education are below the expectations set by the locally agreed syllabus and are lower than at the last inspection. Pupils are underachieving in this subject in all years except Years 1 and 3. Although not enough evidence was gathered to make secure judgements on standards in other subjects, the evidence indicates that there is underachievement in geography and history. This represents a decline in history and a lack of improvement in geography. In the aspects of work seen in art and design, design and technology and physical education, pupils’ achievement is satisfactory, which is an improvement in design and technology. No judgement is made for music.

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Commentary

8. The underachievement in Years 1 to 6 is a direct result of weaknesses in teaching and the curriculum. In subjects such as religious education, geography and history, the coverage of the curriculum is too thin and patchy to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding to the level expected. Weaknesses in provision persist, and often go unnoticed, because of unsatisfactory checking of teaching and the curriculum.

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Commentary

9. Where there is underachievement in particular subjects and year groups, all groups of pupils are adversely affected. There are capable pupils who are not challenged. Pupils with special educational needs are not always provided with the support they need. Likewise, those with English as an additional language are not always given the necessary assistance, for example, to improve their written English. In English in Years 4 and 5, it is the pupils with special educational needs and also those for whom English is an additional language who miss out the most. When pupils with English as an additional language have intensive support from the bilingual instructor, they do well.

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Commentary

10. In contrast to the situation in the rest of the school, children get off to a good start in the Reception Year. They achieve well across the areas of learning for children of this age. By the end of the school year, almost all children reach the standards expected for their age and a few exceed them, except in reading and writing, in which standards remain a little below the level expected. Standards now are higher than at the last inspection when children reach the end of the Reception Year.

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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 13.0 (15.0) 15.8 (15.7) writing 11.8 (13.0) 14.6 (14.6) mathematics 15.3 (16.3) 16.2 (16.3) 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 6 – average point scores in 2004

Standards in: School results National results English 22.5 (26.3) 26.9 (26.8) Whitnash Primary School - 9 mathematics 23.5 (27.3) 27.0 (26.8) science 27.0 (28.7) 28.6 (28.6) There were 12 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are satisfactory. Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is unsatisfactory overall. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children in the Reception Year have good attitudes, behave well and make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. • Pupils in all years form good relationships with each other and with the adults in school. • Not enough is done to help pupils to develop spiritual awareness or to increase their understanding of their own and other cultures.

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Commentary

11. In the Reception Year adults create a caring and supportive environment where children feel happy and secure. They regularly praise children’s efforts, give children just the right amount of help, but also encourage them to become increasingly independent. The staff have high expectations of behaviour and give the children exciting things to do. As a result, children work hard, enjoy learning and behave well. They move on in leaps and bounds in their personal, social and emotional development.

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Commentary

12. In lessons and on the playground, the vast majority of pupils behave well. They share equipment amicably and work well together. Staff create an environment where pupils feel safe and free from bullying and harassment. Any incidents of bullying are not tolerated and are dealt with firmly once the school is aware of them.

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Commentary

13. Although they do little to seek pupils’ views formally, adults listen to pupils’ opinions. As a result, most pupils listen respectfully to adults and to each other most of the time. For example, during a ‘talk session’ in Year 3, pupils listened to each other’s points of view and showed empathy and concern for others when choosing the ‘Pupil of the Fortnight.’ However, mechanisms such as the School council are at an early stage of development, and pupils do not have a strong voice.

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Commentary

14. Pupils in Year 6 have fewer opportunities for responsibility than in most schools. Sometimes remarks teachers write in pupils’ books show little respect for the efforts pupils have made and do little to make them feel valued, increase their self-esteem or raise their self-confidence. Even so, the vast majority of pupils enjoy school, although those in the Reception Year to Year 2 have more positive views of the school than those in Years 3 to 6.

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Commentary

15. Almost all pupils work satisfactorily in lessons, even when the work is dull and the teaching is methodical and uninspiring. However, pupils sometimes ‘switch off’ because of weaknesses in how time is used in lessons. This is particularly the case when they spend too long sitting on the carpet so that they become uncomfortable and fidgety. Occasionally, pupils in Year 6 simply ignore their teacher when they are bored.

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Commentary

16. Although the school policy for managing behaviour is consistently implemented, even pupils in Year 6 are unsure of the school and class rules. The rules are not displayed prominently and there are few references to them, although the pupils were involved in drawing them up. There are some vulnerable pupils in the school, particularly in the older classes, who find it difficult to conform to rules. To help these pupils, the school has put in place behaviour management strategies and most of these support pupils satisfactorily. However, a few disruptive pupils are Whitnash Primary School - 10 removed from lessons and sometimes excluded from school. Last school year one pupil was excluded for a fixed period. This school year, there have been five fixed-term exclusions, which have involved three pupils all of whom have emotional, behavioural and social needs. 17. Although the pupils’ social and moral development is satisfactory, their cultural and spiritual

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Commentary

development is not good enough. Provision for pupils’ cultural and spiritual development is unplanned and even incidental attention to these areas is not significant. These aspects of provision were satisfactory at the last inspection, but they have slipped since. Teachers do not draw sufficiently on the diverse cultural society in which pupils live, for example, when talking about different faiths and beliefs.

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Commentary

18. The unsatisfactory provision in religious education results in many missed opportunities to promote spiritual and cultural development. In subjects such as geography and history, work is not covered in sufficient depth to give pupils a satisfactory understanding of a range of cultures. Spiritual development is not given much attention in assemblies. The residential visit for pupils in Year 6 successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual and cultural development, as well as making a strong contribution to their social development. However, there is a lack of regular planned opportunities to make pupils spiritually aware of their world, feelings and beliefs.

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Attendance

19. As at the last inspection, the attendance rate is broadly in line with the national average. The school promotes attendance well through providing a good range of awards and regular reminders about the importance of good attendance through the newsletter to parents. Parents make satisfactory efforts to get their children to school regularly and on time.

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Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 4.9 School data 0.1 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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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census Number of pupils on roll Number of fixed- period exclusion s Number of permanent exclusions

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – British 106 1 0 White – any other white background 3 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 4 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 1 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 4 0 0 Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 1 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Indian 13 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 1 0 0 Whitnash Primary School - 11 Black or Black British – African 1 0 0 Any other ethnic group 4 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 4 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The overall quality of education is unsatisfactory, although it is good for children in the Reception Year. Teaching and the range of learning opportunities do not meet pupils’ needs well enough in Years 1 to 6 and the result is that there is significant underachievement. The care for pupils’ personal well-being, including the pastoral care, ensures that pupils feel safe and secure at school. However, not enough is done to seek pupils’ views and involve them in making decisions about what the school provides. The partnerships with parents and other schools give satisfactory support to pupils’ learning but there are few links with the community.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching, learning and assessment are unsatisfactory overall, although they are good in the Reception Year.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching in the Reception Year meets children’s needs well and moves their learning on at a good pace. • Throughout Years 1 to 6 too little account is taken of the range of pupils’ needs and much of the teaching lacks ambition and urgency.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

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

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

20. Good teaching is the main reason why children achieve well in the Reception Year. The overall quality of teaching and learning in this part of the school has improved since the last inspection and standards have risen as a result. Adults work well together and have high expectations of the standards that all children are capable of attaining. They do much to create an environment supportive of learning, settling children in well through well-established routines and clear expectations of attitudes and behaviour. Children with special educational needs, and also those who have English as an additional language, are included fully in all activities and given the additional help they need.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

21. There is good attention to the basics of communication, language, literacy and mathematical development in the Reception Year. Speaking and listening skills are promoted very well through a constant focus on talk and the interaction of adults with children as they work and play. Teaching of the basics of reading and writing is effective. Adults engage and motivate the children well, moving learning on through games, imaginative play and specific focused activities. The good teaching of mathematical development makes learning fun, whilst also challenging all children well. Adults make full use of unexpected opportunities for learning, for Whitnash Primary School - 12 example, getting children to count the rings they had noticed on a wooden bench made from a tree trunk in the school’s woodland area.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

22. Within the good teaching in the Reception Year, there are some features needing improvement in order to make learning even better. Occasionally, children are required to sit together for too long on the carpet. Although they continue to behave well and show positive attitudes, the result is that there is some restlessness and children’s learning slows at these times. Even though mathematical activities meet children’s needs well, questioning is not always effective in ensuring consistent challenge for the most capable children during whole- class sessions. In class physical development lessons in the hall, teaching is satisfactory rather than good. There are missed opportunities to get children to improve by evaluating their own and others’ work or to demonstrate to others what they have done well.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

23. In contrast to the picture in the Reception Year, the overall quality of teaching and learning in Years 1 to 6 is patchy, inconsistent, and unsatisfactory overall. This is a decline since the last inspection. The result is that pupils are underachieving in major aspects of their school work, most significantly in Years 4 and 5 where the teaching is weakest. Teaching and learning are unsatisfactory overall in Years 3 to 6 in English, mathematics, science, ICT and religious education. Science, ICT and religious education teaching are also unsatisfactory overall in Years 1 and 2. Although the teaching and learning in English and mathematics are satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, there are weaknesses. These weaknesses are most evident in the teaching of English in Year 2.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

24. The main problem with the teaching in Years 1 to 6 is that it is not based on an assessment of pupils’ differing needs. Too little is done to match work to pupils’ needs and often all pupils are given the same work to do. This results, for example, in the lowest-attaining pupils and those who have special educational needs struggling with work that they cannot understand. At the same time, the most capable pupils under-perform because they are not challenged. In English in Years 4 and 5 it is the pupils with special educational needs, and also those who have English as an additional language, who miss out the most.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

25. Throughout Years 1 to 6, much of the teaching lacks ambition and drive. Not only is it not good enough to raise standards, but also it allows pupils to slip back. The pace of lessons is often slow, a weakness compounded by lessons that are very long. There are examples of lessons lasting up to 90 minutes, with content that could be covered in a significantly shorter period.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

26. Pupils spend too much time gathered on the carpet listening to their teachers, with opportunities to provide only short answers to questions. In Year 6, for instance, there is an inappropriate demand for pupils to sit still and cross-legged. In one religious education lesson, the pupils eventually ‘switched off’ and talked to each other, taking little notice of their teacher.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

27. Although there are examples of effective support for pupils with special educational needs, such as in some Year 3 lessons, this is not consistent across the year groups. Pupils with special educational needs do not have as much additional adult support in lessons as in most schools. The support given by the specialist instructor for pupils with English as an additional language is good.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

28. Marking is inconsistent in quality and is unsatisfactory overall. It is particularly weak in Years 4 and 5 where it does almost nothing to support learning in English. Comments on the work of the lower-attaining pupils are often negative in tone in English, mathematics and science in Years 4 and 5. There are examples of mediocre work being praised. In Year 3, fulsome praise is given for work that does not warrant it. Where positive comments are provided they are rarely followed up.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 28 lessons

29. There are some examples of good teaching and learning in Years 1 to 6, most often located in Years 1 and 3. However, there is too little good teaching and learning other than in the Reception Year. In ICT lessons taught by the headteacher, the teaching of skills is accurate Whitnash Primary School - 13 and based on good subject knowledge. In a physical education lesson in Year 3, accurate teaching successfully developed pupils’ skills in striking and fielding as preparation for rounders.

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The curriculum

The quality and range of learning opportunities are unsatisfactory overall, although they are good in the Reception Year. The accommodation gives very good support to the curriculum. Resources to support pupils’ learning are satisfactory overall.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• An imaginative and stimulating range of learning opportunities meets children’s needs well in the Reception Year. • Shortcomings in the way that the curriculum is planned and taught in Years 1 to 6 result in underachievement in too many subjects. • There are few activities additional to day-by-day lessons, such as clubs. • The spacious accommodation provides very good facilities to support the curriculum. • Resources for ICT are unsatisfactory and have a detrimental effect on pupils’ learning.

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Commentary

30. Weaknesses found at the last inspection in the planning of the curriculum in the Reception class have been rectified effectively. All children now have access to a wide, varied and stimulating range of learning opportunities, which contribute significantly to their good achievement. There is a good balance between the activities that children choose for themselves from a range provided and the adult-led activities. The curriculum in the Reception Year combines with good teaching to give children a strong start in all the areas of learning.

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Commentary

31. Long-term plans of work are now in place for all subjects in Years 1 to 6. However, there are still shortcomings in the way that the curriculum is planned and taught. The long-term plans, which follow national guidance for each subject, have not been structured adequately to ensure that skills, knowledge and understanding are built on year-by-year as pupils move up through the school.

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Commentary

32. In Years 1 and 2, and also in Years 4 and 5, where pupils across from two year groups study the same topics, work is too often pitched at the level of the younger age group and this restricts the achievement of the older year group. For example, the oldest and most capable pupils in Year 2 do the same work as the youngest and least capable pupils in Year 1. In science, history, geography and religious education, there is patchy, inconsistent and superficial coverage of the curriculum. As a result, there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding and they are prevented from reaching the expected standards in these subjects.

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Commentary

33. Not enough account is taken of the range of pupils’ needs in the teaching of the curriculum. Often, activities are not well enough varied for pupils with special educational needs. This lack of adaptation of the work for pupils with special educational needs means that they struggle when they do not have the necessary adult support. Likewise, there is not always enough account taken of the needs of pupils for whom English is an additional language. Often, higher-attaining pupils are not challenged because the activities for them are the same as for all other pupils in the class. Whitnash Primary School - 14 34. Insufficient attention is given to the development of skills in language, literacy and mathematics across the curriculum. There is not enough focus on developing pupils’ competence in writing for different purposes across the subjects. There are also few opportunities for the development of skills in speaking, listening, reading and mathematics. In

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Commentary

mathematics and science, not enough attention is given to developing pupils’ skills of enquiry so that they develop the expected independence in applying their knowledge and understanding to solving problems.

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Commentary

35. The range of learning opportunities in ICT is unsatisfactory. Whilst lessons in the computer room are often successful and skills are taught accurately, this work is not followed up and developed in classrooms. There is too little development of ICT skills in subjects across the curriculum. Furthermore, pupils do not have adequate opportunities to use ICT as a means of supporting their progress in other subjects. The resources for ICT are fewer than those found in most schools and this restricts the opportunities for pupils to develop skills as they should. The computer room is not used well enough and often lies idle in the mornings. Shortcomings in the resourcing of the ICT curriculum are a factor in pupils’ underachievement in this area.

p.16

Commentary

36. Art and design and design and technology are taught in blocks of one week on alternate half terms. This enables skills to be developed systematically and followed through to the finished product within a short timescale. However, there is no ongoing, regular development of skills and techniques, which means that some pupils, if they happen to be absent when it is their class’ art and design or design and technology week, fail to learn specific skills and miss out on a particular experience.

p.16

Commentary

37. There is adequate enrichment of the curriculum through the use of visitors and visits, including a residential visit for pupils in Year 6. However, support for learning outside the school day is unsatisfactory and, for example, too few clubs are provided. This aspect of provision is not as strong as at the last inspection, when it was good. To some extent, but not entirely, the lack of extra-curricular activities this year results from changes in teachers and the appointment of newly qualified teachers. More clubs were run in the last school year.

p.16

Commentary

38. The number of suitably qualified and experienced teachers is satisfactory in meeting the requirements of the curriculum. However, the number of support assistants is lower than normally found and is insufficient. Both the internal and external accommodation offer a very good range of facilities that have the potential to support learning very well. Resources are satisfactory in most subjects, but are unsatisfactory in ICT.

p.16

Care, guidance and support

Provision for pupils’ care, welfare and health and safety is good. The support, advice and guidance pupils receive based on monitoring is satisfactory overall. The involvement of pupils through seeking, valuing and acting on their views is unsatisfactory.

p.16

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Health, safety and child protection procedures are good. • Pupils have good and trusting relationships with the adults in school, and the pastoral care is good. • The quality of guidance to pupils about how they can improve their school work is inadequate. • The school council is underdeveloped and not enough is done to seek pupils’ views. • Good arrangements help children to settle in when they start in the Reception Year.

p.16

Commentary

39. The arrangements for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of pupils have improved since the last inspection. Two staff are fully trained in child protection, and all staff are kept up-to- date well. New members of staff are fully informed of procedures and understand the need to Whitnash Primary School - 15 be vigilant. Notes and records of any concerns are carefully filed, permitting easy reference to factual information should the matter become more serious. Similarly, health and safety monitoring and procedures are thorough and comprehensive, as are those for first aid.

p.16

Commentary

40. The vast majority of pupils are confident that there is an adult in school to whom they can turn for support should it be necessary. As a result of their good relationships with the adults in school, pupils feel safe and well cared for. Pupils are also confident in seeking pastoral guidance because of the good relationships. Pastoral advice on behaviour, for example, is good.

p.17

Commentary

41. Academic guidance has not improved sufficiently since the last inspection and it remains unsatisfactory. Although pupils now fill in an annual joint assessment with their teachers of how well they are doing, pupils have little understanding of what they need to do to improve their school work. There is no consistent approach to ensuring that pupils understand their targets. Marking gives pupils too little guidance about how they can do better.

p.17

Commentary

42. The good relationships in the school between adults and pupils play a significant part in pupils’ views being respected. Further opportunities in the timetabled provision for personal, social and health education are used as a means of pupils giving their views. However, less is done than in most schools to gain pupils’ opinions and to act on them.

p.17

Commentary

43. A school council has been in place for some time representing all classes. However, meetings of the school council are infrequent and irregular and there are no post-holders. There is inconsistency in how pupils’ views are sought for council discussions and there is no notice board to provide pupils with feedback. Overall, the council has a low profile in school life. There have been no questionnaires to seek the pupils’ views. As well as this area being a shortcoming in the care for pupils, it also results in missed opportunities for pupils’ personal and social development.

p.17

Commentary

44. The arrangements for settling children in when they start in the Reception Year are good and are supported by home visits. Parents welcome these visits and they allow the staff, parents and children to get to know each other easily. The phased start of new children over four weeks at the start of the school year follows a tried and tested formula. The induction arrangements for pupils who join the school at a later stage are satisfactory.

p.17

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The school has satisfactory links with parents, other schools and colleges. Links with the community are unsatisfactory.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• A good number of parents support their children at home with reading. • There is little active involvement of parents in school life. • Insufficient use is made of the community as a resource for pupils’ learning.

p.17

Commentary

45. The school provides satisfactory information for parents on their children’s progress. At parents’ evenings parents discuss and agree the targets set for their children, and this encourages parents to support their children’s learning. Pupil profiles are now issued at the end of the summer term. These profiles include pupils’ self-assessments of how they have got on and understanding of what they can now do. Teachers also contribute their view to the same sheet, allowing parents to have insight into their child’s progress and their child’s potential areas for improvement. Whitnash Primary School - 16 46. Other information to parents is not as clear or consistent as that provided on their children’s progress. The governors’ annual report to parents is written in an uninformative and confusing way. The information on attendance is simply a repetition of statistics that means little to the untrained eye, and comparative information on statutory tests for pupils is not at all clear.

p.17

Commentary

Newsletters are reasonable and regular. Termly curriculum information supplied by the classes, although of good quality, is not always provided for parents. No curricular information was sent out this term. The timing of information is not rigorous. For example, information on the right to withdraw pupils from a sex education talk was not sent out with enough time to allow parents to respond.

p.18

Commentary

47. A good number of parents support their children’s learning at home, in particular by hearing them read regularly. Although many parents attend achievement assemblies and events at school, very few volunteer to help in classrooms or with school activities. The parents association has been supportive in the past but has not been active recently, and is not as strong as at the last inspection.

p.18

Commentary

48. Parents’ views are sought satisfactorily. There is appropriate analysis of parents’ views, with response made. The class curriculum information was designed in response to some of the views expressed. The staff are approachable and procedures for dealing with complaints are satisfactory. Links with parents have not moved on since the last inspection.

p.18

Commentary

49. Links with the community are too few and have not developed sufficiently since the last inspection. Police and fire officers visit regularly, as they do in most schools. Volunteers come into school to give pupils opportunities to read regularly to an adult. There is a link with the Methodist church through the governors. A Church of England vicar also takes an assembly once each half term. However, there is little direct involvement of pupils in community activities. There are very few opportunities, for example, for pupils to participate in local fund raising. Business links are few although business provided funding and resources for pupils to take part in a competition. Apart from the nearby graveyard, the use of the local area as a curriculum resource is minimal. The lack of wider and more developed links with the community means that opportunities are missed for pupils’ personal, social and academic

p.18

Commentary

50. Transfer arrangements to secondary school follow the local area procedures and are satisfactory. The school benefits from the Secondary Sports Co-ordinator Programme, which gives pupils good opportunities to experience many different kinds of sport. There are no other school or college links to extend opportunities for pupils and this aspect of the school’s work has not developed since the last inspection.

p.18

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The leadership, including that of the headteacher and key staff, is unsatisfactory. Management is also unsatisfactory. Governance is satisfactory.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Even though some significant areas are identified as requiring development, the pace of improvement is too slow. • The checking of teaching and the curriculum and how they contribute to pupils’ learning is unsatisfactory. • The provision for children in the Reception Year is well led and managed.

p.18

Commentary

51. The leadership and management of the school are not as good as at the last inspection and are now unsatisfactory. The pace of improvement is too slow. This is the case even when account is taken of recent difficult circumstances. These circumstances have slowed the Whitnash Primary School - 17 recent pace of change. They include changes of teachers this school year, with three newly qualified teachers on the staff for part of this school year, the need for the headteacher to teach for half of each week last term, the lack of a deputy headteacher for two years, and a period during which the headteacher was absent.

p.18

Commentary

52. Most of the main weaknesses found at the last inspection continue to be areas requiring significant improvement, although there has been good development of the provision for children in the Reception Year and satisfactory development of design and technology. There are major areas in which the school’s work has declined, including the quality of teaching and learning and the curriculum for pupils in Years 1 to 6. The result of this decline is that there is now significant underachievement among pupils in Years 1 to 6, particularly in Years 4 and 5. The school is now failing to provide its pupils with an acceptable standard of education and needs significant support to move forward.

p.19

Commentary

53. The headteacher recognises that there are major areas that need development. For example, in a bid to rectify the weaknesses in the provision for English, she has taken on the role of English co-ordinator this school year. Likewise, she took over the co-ordination of ICT provision after the last inspection when weaknesses were found in this area, and has undertaken much of the ICT teaching during this term. This action is an indicator of the headteacher’s commitment to the school and its pupils. Similar commitment is evident in the headteacher being the only member of staff who runs an extra-curricular activity. However, this care for the school is not enough to turn it around.

p.19

Commentary

54. A whole-team approach with a clear and shared focus on raising standards is needed in order to take the school forward. The school does not have this at present. The headteacher is not providing a clear enough educational direction, with all staff following. The appointment of a deputy headteacher at the start of this school year is one step forward. A positive working relationship between the headteacher and deputy has developed and a satisfactory range of responsibilities has been allocated to the deputy. However, the partnership has not developed into a strong enough force for driving up standards and improving pupils’ achievement.

p.19

Commentary

55. A major weakness is that the checking of teaching and the curriculum and how they contribute to pupils’ learning is unsatisfactory. Although some checking goes on, it is insufficiently frequent, rigorous or focused on how provision affects standards. Hence, the full extent of the weaknesses in the school, including the main causes of underachievement, have not been recognised and are not being tackled. Development of the curriculum since the last inspection has been weak because action taken has not been evaluated well enough to see where shortcomings remain.

p.19

Commentary

56. The leadership and management of subjects by co-ordinators is unsatisfactory overall. The main reason for this is the lack of focus on evaluating how provision relates to the standards attained and pupils’ achievement. Although some developments are taking place, they are mostly too recent to have an effect on standards. For example, the history co-ordinator has put together a collection of pupils’ work, which she has assessed against national criteria, to guide teachers in pitching work at the right level. Even the headteacher in her role as ICT co- ordinator does not ensure that ICT is taught adequately by all teachers and is used to support learning across the subjects. The management of special educational needs does not ensure that this group of pupils have their needs met well enough in lessons. However, the provision in the Foundation Stage is well led and managed.

p.19

Commentary

57. Day-by-day management of the school is satisfactory. The school day runs smoothly and there are clear procedures, for example, for dealing with incidents of unsatisfactory behaviour. The school is successful in providing a safe, calm and orderly environment for pupils, with good relationships between pupils and adults. However, not all staff adhere to their agreed timetables or follow school policy, for example, for ensuring that the daily literacy lesson is taught to a given structure. Whitnash Primary School - 18 58. Governance is satisfactory overall, although there are weaknesses. Governors have a reasonably realistic awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They are satisfactorily involved in checking the school’s progress towards priorities identified in the school development plan and are well involved in areas such as ensuring the health and safety of the site. There are quite a few new governors and the chair of governors is

p.19

Commentary

supporting them satisfactorily to help them to get to know their roles.

p.20

Commentary

59. There is a positive working relationship between the headteacher and chair of governors. Governors ensure that statutory requirements are met. However, the governors’ role is underdeveloped in providing constructive challenge for senior staff in the leadership of the school.

p.20

Commentary

60. The school manages its finances satisfactorily and the monitoring of spending is secure. Satisfactory arrangements are in place to ensure that the school gains value for money in the purchasing of goods and services. However, not enough consideration is given to whether the school provides the best value for pupils and their parents in the quality of education it provides. Given the weaknesses in the quality of the education and the extent of pupils’ underachievement, the school gives unsatisfactory value for money.

p.20

Financial information for the year April 2004 to March 2005

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 462,516 Balance from previous year 17,208 Total expenditure 455,604 Balance carried forward to the next year 24,120

p.20

Financial information for the year April 2004 to March 2005

Expenditure per pupil 3,186 Whitnash Primary School - 19

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Of the 31 children presently in the Reception Year, six have English as an additional language, two of whom are at an early stage of learning English. Eleven children have special educational needs, including two with statements of special educational needs. Children enter the Reception Year with attainment below the level expected overall. Their skills in communication, language and literacy are particularly low.

p.21

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

The school has rectified the weaknesses found at the last inspection in the teaching and in the curriculum, and provision is now good. Standards have been raised and children are achieving well as a result of the improvements. There are effective procedures for checking children’s attainment and progress. The information gained through assessment is used well by staff to guide the next steps in children’s learning.

p.21

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

The Reception teacher successfully leads and manages a team of adults to ensure that all children are included and have their needs met. All the staff contribute effectively to the smooth running of the Reception class and to children’s good achievement. The teacher has high aspirations. A focus on raising standards has been at the heart of improvement since the last inspection.

p.21

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is good .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children come on in leaps and bounds in their personal, social and emotional development. • Adults have high expectations of children’s attitudes, behaviour and independence. • Occasionally, children become restless and fidgety when they sit for too long on the carpet.

p.21

Commentary

61. Children achieve well because teaching is good and adults have high expectations of them. As a result, by the end of the Reception Year, almost all children reach the nationally expected goals and a small number exceed them. Children with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language progress at the same rate as others. This is because all children are supported well and included fully in the wide range of activities planned to develop personal and social skills.

p.21

Commentary

62. Children settle well and make good gains in their personal and social confidence. Adults ensure that all children are made to feel secure and valued in a calm, happy and stimulating environment. Well-established routines support the development of children’s self-esteem. The children respond positively to the good care of the staff and to the good role models that all staff provide. They show the expected levels of independence for their age in tidying up and in choosing their own activities from a range provided because this is expected of them.

p.21

Commentary

63. Adults have high expectations of children’s conduct and these are reflected in the children’s good attitudes and behaviour. There are occasions, however, when children are gathered together sitting on the carpet for too long. As a result, children sometimes become restless and fidgety. Adults are skilled in extending children’s play. Consequently, children’s ideas, talk and thinking are developed well as, for example, they participate in role-play.

p.21

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Whitnash Primary School - 20 Provision in communication, language and literacy is good .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children achieve very well in speaking and listening. • Early reading and writing skills develop well through a good range of activities. • The pace of learning slows when children spend too long on the carpet.

p.22

Commentary

64. Children achieve well as a result of good teaching. They make very good progress in speaking and listening so that almost all reach the early learning goals in this aspect by the end of the Reception Year. Although children make good progress from low starting points in reading and writing, not all reach the expected standards and standards remain below the level expected at this age.

p.22

Commentary

65. The regular activities of letter and word games, of sharing news and stories, and ‘circle time’, when children sit in a circle for discussion, provide very good opportunities for speaking and listening. Children enjoy these activities and respond with interest, listening carefully and gaining confidence in speaking to the whole class. Children with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language are well supported and included so that they are able to participate fully and achieve as well as others. The bilingual instructor is very effective in giving spontaneous support to the children who are at an early stage of learning English.

p.22

Commentary

66. Almost all children are beginning to correctly name and sound the letters of the alphabet, linking the sounds with the letters. This is because the games and activities provide good, regular reinforcement of this basic skill, which does much to help children’s early reading. Children’s interest in books and their confidence in starting to read simple texts are developed effectively. Consequently, almost all understand that print communicates meaning and can tell a story from the pictures, attempting to read familiar words. A small number of more capable children can read a simple, repetitive text competently. Children borrow books and are given much encouragement to read at home. Just occasionally, children are kept too long on the carpet during class activities, which slows the pace of learning as they become fidgety and restless.

p.22

Commentary

67. Numerous opportunities are provided for the development of writing both in adult-supported tasks and in imaginative role-play when there is less direct involvement of adults. As a result of these activities, children attribute sense to the marks they make on paper. Almost all children write their own names and copy under handwriting. However, few but a small number of the most capable children write simple sentences on their own.

p.22

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is good .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good teaching raises standards to the level expected and children achieve well. • Assessment information is used well to guide children’s next steps of learning. • Occasionally, in whole-class question-and-answer sessions, the most capable children are not challenged well enough.

p.22

Commentary

Whitnash Primary School - 21 68. All groups of children achieve well as a result of good teaching and this raises standards. Almost all children are on course to reach the nationally expected standards at the end of the Reception Year and a small number are likely to exceed these standards.

p.23

Commentary

69. Quick-fire mental games successfully reinforce children’s counting skills to 20 and back, and in tens to 100. The use of a well-loved puppet, games, songs and rhymes captures children’s interest and makes learning fun. A good range of practical activities covers all strands of mathematics, including number, shapes and measures.

p.23

Commentary

70. Adults take every opportunity to develop counting skills, such as during registration time, so that numbers in everyday situations become meaningful to the children . On one occasion, as the member of support staff worked with children in the school’s woodland area, the children noticed the patterns on a bench made from a tree trunk. The member of staff seized the moment and encouraged the children to count the rings with her. They were amazed when they counted up to 49.

p.23

Commentary

71. There are good procedures for checking children’s progress and these are used well to guide their next steps in learning. Children are often grouped in ways that ensure that those capable of higher attainment are pushed on well and those who need support receive it. For example, as most children explore different ways of making sets that added up to five, the most capable ones find ways of making sets that add up to 10. However, there are occasions in whole-class activities on the carpet when questioning is not sufficiently varied to provide the extra challenge that the most capable children need.

p.23

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is good .

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• A good range of activities ensures that children make good progress in using small tools and equipment. • Good attention is given to ensuring that small tools are used safely. • There are some missed opportunities to move learning in lessons in the school hall.

p.23

Commentary

72. Teaching and learning are good and help children to achieve well. Almost all children are on course to reach the nationally expected standards at the end of the Reception Year and a small number to exceed them.

p.23

Commentary

73. A good range of activities ensures that children frequently use a variety of small equipment. They have regular access to jigsaws, large and small models, construction materials and simple tools. As a result, they develop good control and skills in using tools such as scissors, glue sticks and paint brushes. Adults sensitively support and encourage the children so that they work carefully and safely.

p.23

Commentary

74. There has been good improvement to the outside accommodation and equipment since the last inspection. This means that children now have regular daily opportunities for developing large physical movements on tricycles and other wheeled toys. There is some access to climbing and balancing apparatus outside, but this is not available every day. Although the school compensates for this to some extent by using the school hall once each week, the lack of such daily activity prevents children from reaching even higher standards. Children move safely and confidently in and around the classroom, hall and outside area. They change for physical education lessons with a minimum of adult help. Whitnash Primary School - 22 75. Teaching and learning are satisfactory in physical development lessons in the school hall. Children gain increasing control of body movements as they move along, under, up and over large apparatus. However, there are missed opportunities for children to begin to evaluate

p.23

Commentary

their own and others’ work and to demonstrate what they do well to others.

p.24

OTHER AREAS OF LEARNING

76. Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development was sampled. Not enough evidence was gathered to make secure judgements on overall provision in these areas.

p.24

OTHER AREAS OF LEARNING

77. Ample experiences both indoors and outside develop children’s competence in using paint and other materials to make pictures. Children achieve well when exploring a range of techniques and materials in drawings, paintings and collage. Early design and technology and science skills are explored when, for example, children make models of boats from recycled materials, which they then test in water to see if they float.

p.24

OTHER AREAS OF LEARNING

78. The role-play areas in the classroom and outside are used well to promote independent play and to encourage children to act out imaginary situations. Good use is made of visitors and visits to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of people who work for us and of the wider world.

p.24

OTHER AREAS OF LEARNING

79. In a singing lesson in which teaching and learning were good, children enjoyed rehearsing a repertoire of familiar action songs. They learned a new song quickly because of clear teaching and the infectious enthusiasm of the adults.

p.24

ENGLISH

Provision in English is unsatisfactory .

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• There is significant underachievement, in particular among pupils in Years 4 and 5. • Teaching lacks ambition, is not focused on raising standards and takes insufficient account of pupils’ differing needs. • The timetabling of English activities is unsatisfactory. • The pace of development and improvement is too slow.

p.24

Commentary

80. Pupils’ results in the National Curriculum tests at the end of Years 2 and 6 were low. The Year 6 pupils’ results were in the lowest five per cent of schools nationally. Compared with the performance of other schools whose pupils had similar attainment at the end of Year 2, these results were well below average. The results of pupils at the end of Year 2 were well below the national average in reading and writing. These results were also well below average compared with those of other schools with pupils from similar backgrounds.

p.24

Commentary

81. The 2004 results were just as low as at the last inspection, although they have not been as low as this in all the intervening years. Until recently, the results were improving at a better rate than nationally. However, there was a sharp dip in the end of Year 6 results in 2004, and the end of Year 2 reading results fell at the same time. The writing results of pupils at the end of Year 2 started to decline in 2003. The standards of school work of pupils presently in Years 2 and 6 are below the level expected nationally in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Whitnash Primary School - 23 82. The 2004 results were adversely affected by the turnover of pupils in the school. The pupils who were in the school throughout Years 3 to 6 made satisfactory progress from where they started in Year 3 to the end of Year 6. Similarly, the pupils now in Year 6 who have been in the school throughout the last four years have made satisfactory progress in relation to their

p.24

Commentary

starting points in Year 3. However, the current rate of progress of pupils now moving up from Year 3 to Year 6 is too patchy and inconsistent, resulting in their overall achievement being unsatisfactory.

p.25

Commentary

83. There is significant underachievement in Years 4 and 5, in particular. In these two years, the lower-attaining pupils, including those with special educational needs, are the ones who do least well in relation to their capabilities. There are also examples of other pupils, including those with English as an additional language and the ‘average’ pupils, not doing well enough in Years 4 and 5. There are occasions in Years 3 and 6 when the most capable pupils are not sufficiently challenged and underachieve.

p.25

Commentary

84. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 make satisfactory progress overall. Provision in Year 1 builds adequately on the good start given in the Reception Year. However, there are missed opportunities in Year 2, in particular, to raise standards. Teaching ensures that the pupils in Year 2 move on over time at a rate that is just acceptable, but it also allows pupils of all capabilities to coast and underachieve on occasions.

p.25

Commentary

85. The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, although there are weaknesses that need to be rectified. In Years 3 to 6, teaching is too patchy and inconsistent and is unsatisfactory overall. Teaching lacks the necessary drive and ambition to raise standards and is not as good as at the last inspection. There is very little teaching that is better than satisfactory. Too much teaching is only barely adequate or unsatisfactory and is characterised by a lack of urgency.

p.25

Commentary

86. Even in lessons in which teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, the pace is often slow. As a result, pupils do not always sustain sufficient involvement in writing activities. Too often, writing activities in particular are not varied well enough to meet the full range of pupils’ needs. In one Year 6 lesson, for example, two lower-attaining pupils struggled with a poetry-writing task that was too difficult for them, whilst the most capable pupils found the task easy and finished quickly. In some lessons, particularly in Year 6, pupils spend too much time listening to the teacher and responding to questions requiring only short answers. Although specific timetabled sessions for talk are often used satisfactorily, not enough attention is given to discussion and debate at other times.

p.25

Commentary

87. There are weaknesses in the timetabling of English that exacerbate the lack of urgency in the teaching. Many English lessons last well over an hour. There are instances of lessons in Year 2 lasting 90 minutes, when the content of the lesson could be covered in half the time. There are occasions when whole afternoons are taken up with literacy-related activities covered at a slow pace. Short sessions, which are scheduled to take place throughout the week, for example, for focused teaching of the basics of reading or for a story, do not always take place. Not all teachers implement the school’s policy for the organisation of literacy lessons and group reading sessions.

p.25

Commentary

88. There is some satisfactory marking, for instance in Year 6. However, there are times when mediocre work is praised. There are many missed opportunities to move learning on, for example, by pointing out errors in grammar and punctuation. Marking is particularly weak in Years 4 and 5 where it does almost nothing to help pupils know what they have done well and what they could improve.

p.25

Commentary

89. The leadership and management of English are unsatisfactory. The headteacher has taken over co-ordination of the subject this school year. She has identified some main areas of Whitnash Primary School - 24 weakness and has started to tackle some of them. However, improvement is not taking place at a good enough pace and the provision has not developed well enough since the last inspection.

p.25

Language and literacy across the curriculum

90. Pupils’ language and literacy skills are not developed well enough through other subjects, or used sufficiently to support progress across the curriculum. Although there are some reasonable opportunities for pupils to write in subjects, such as geography, these are too few. Pupils seldom use books for research, for example, to develop knowledge and understanding in religious education or history. Although pupils often answer questions in class sessions in other subjects, they do not often engage in real discussion and debate.

p.26

MATHEMATICS

Provision in mathematics is unsatisfactory .

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are not high enough and there is significant underachievement in Years 4 and 5. • Teaching is not sufficiently based on an assessment of pupils’ differing needs. • Even when weaknesses are identified, the actions put in place do not do enough to raise standards or improve the quality of teaching.

p.26

Commentary

91. Pupils’ results in the National Curriculum tests at the end of Years 2 and 6 in 2004 were well below the national average. The performance of pupils at the end of Year 6 was also well below average when compared with the results achieved by other schools whose pupils had attained similarly at the end of Year 2. The end of Year 2 results were broadly average compared with those of other schools with pupils from similar backgrounds.

p.26

Commentary

92. The 2004 results were as low as they were at the last inspection. Although the results of both year groups improved between 2001 and 2003, they dropped in 2004. These changes are largely a reflection of variations in the ability of year groups, and the significant movement of pupils in and out of the school. The standards in the present Years 2 and 6 are below the level expected nationally across all strands of mathematics.

p.26

Commentary

93. The pupils now in Year 6 who have been in the school since the start of Year 3 have made satisfactory progress from where they started in Year 3. This was also the case for last year’s Year 6. The pupils now in Year 2 have also made satisfactory progress from where they started in Year 1 when their attainment was also below the level expected for their age.

p.26

Commentary

94. Even though the pupils now in Years 2 and 6 have progressed satisfactorily from their starting points, the overall achievement of the pupils in the school is unsatisfactory. The present rate of progress of pupils now in Years 1, 2, 3 and 6 is adequate, but there are weaknesses in provision that prevent standards from rising. The picture regarding pupils’ progress is more patchy and inconsistent in Years 4 and 5 and this results in significant underachievement in these two years. The achievement of pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language is also unsatisfactory.

p.26

Commentary

95. The overall quality of teaching and learning is unsatisfactory and is not as good as at the last inspection. Although it is satisfactory in Years 1, 2, 3 and 6, there are weaknesses that prevent pupils from doing better. Across the school, teachers do not take sufficient account of what pupils can and cannot do in mathematics when they plan work. As a result, the work is not closely enough matched to pupils’ needs and many pupils underachieve. For example, in a lesson in Year 6, the teacher gave all the pupils the same problems to solve during the Whitnash Primary School - 25 whole-class session and during independent activities. Some lower-attaining pupils could not solve the problems because they did not have the mathematical skills or strategies to work it through. As a result, they sat passively in the whole-class session and, by the end of the lesson, had completed little work. The more capable pupils were not sufficiently challenged

p.26

Commentary

96. There are examples of short whole-class sessions with a particular mathematical focus, particularly in Years 1, 2 and 3, where pupils are interested and motivated. However, too often the work teachers give pupils is mundane and does not spark their interest. Frequently, the time in lessons is not used well enough and there is little urgency to the teaching. Pupils often sit for too long on the carpet and, as a result, some become restless and lose interest. Not enough attention is given to the development of pupils’ skills in problem solving.

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Commentary

97. Marking is often superficial and does not give guidance to pupils on how they can improve their work. Most teachers include supportive comments, but there are examples of negative comments on the work of pupils in Years 4 and 5 which do little to encourage or motivate pupils. Many pupils, particularly in Years 4 and 5, do not take pride in their work, which is often untidy.

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Commentary

98. The leadership and management of mathematics are unsatisfactory. There has been too little improvement since the last inspection and many of the weaknesses identified at that time remain. Though the school collects data on pupils’ progress, too little use is made of this data to drive up standards.

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Commentary

99. The present co-ordinator has been in post since the start of this school year. She has identified some weaknesses and has put in place actions that are beginning to address them. For example, she has introduced regular sessions when pupils work on problem-solving skills, as this area is a particular weakness. The co-ordinator has some opportunities to observe lessons and work alongside other teachers. However, the process of checking the effectiveness of teaching and the range of learning opportunities is not rigorous enough. It does not focus sufficiently on how the quality of provision affects the standards pupils attain. This means that there is not a clear understanding of the ways teachers can improve their teaching or of how standards can be raised.

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Mathematics across the curriculum

100. The development of mathematical skills, knowledge and understanding through other subjects, and the use of pupils’ mathematics skills to support their progress in other subjects, are unsatisfactory. The use of ICT is inconsistent and underdeveloped. For example, pupils do not use data-handling programs sufficiently to develop their mathematical understanding. Opportunities for developing number skills in other subjects are not planned, implemented and evaluated as part of a systematic approach, and therefore happen more by accident than intention.

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SCIENCE

Provision in science is unsatisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• There is significant underachievement, with pupils working below their capabilities, particularly in scientific enquiry. • Teaching and the range of learning opportunities are insufficiently matched to pupils’ differing needs. • Too little action is taken to develop the provision and the pace of improvement is too slow.

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Commentary

Whitnash Primary School - 26 101. Pupils’ results in the National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6 in 2004 were well below the national average. These results were broadly average when compared with those of other schools whose pupils had attained similarly at the end of Year 2. The results dipped in 2004, after an upward trend at a better rate than nationally in previous years. The present standards in Year 6, which are well below the level expected nationally, maintain the decline seen in last year’s test results.

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Commentary

102. Teachers assessed pupils’ standards at the end of Year 2 in 2004 as well below average. Standards in the present Year 2 are below the level expected nationally. The slightly better standards now are simply a reflection of natural variations in the ability of year groups of pupils. In both Year 2 and Year 6, standards are lower now than when the school was last inspected. There is significant underachievement among all groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language.

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Commentary

103. By the end of Years 2 and 6, not enough pupils have the expected depth of knowledge and understanding in the aspects of science required by the National Curriculum. Skills in scientific enquiry are particularly weak. Few pupils have the independence they should in planning and carrying out investigations or in recording outcomes in various ways, including through the use of ICT. Although pupils currently in Year 6 have made adequate progress from their starting points at the beginning of Year 3, pupils’ overall rate of progress is too patchy as they move up through the school.

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Commentary

104. Teaching and learning are unsatisfactory overall and have declined since the last inspection, even though there are some lessons in which they are satisfactory. The weaknesses in teaching are the main cause of pupils’ underachievement. After a satisfactory start in Year 1, pupils do not move on enough in other years. Teaching in Year 6 is just adequate and moves pupils’ learning forward from their below-average starting points, but it does not raise standards.

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Commentary

105. There are weaknesses in the way that learning opportunities are planned. Where pupils are taught the same topics, such as in Years 1 and 2 and in the mixed Year 4 and Year 5 class, teachers do not consistently ensure that the skills, knowledge and understanding of the older pupils are developed at a higher level than those expected of the younger age group. Coverage of the curriculum is sometimes superficial in these years. Consequently, few Year 2 and Year 5 pupils reach the standards of which they are capable.

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Commentary

106. Another problem across Years 1 to 6 is that work is not sufficiently adapted to meet the specific needs of groups of pupils and individuals within each class. Not enough account is taken of what pupils already know and can do in science, or where there are weaknesses in their attainment. Much of the work is pitched at the same level for all pupils. As a result, those capable of higher attainment are held back. The less capable, including those with special educational needs, do not always understand the scientific ideas, unless receiving additional support, and so their work is often unfinished. Pupils for whom English is an additional language are not given the support they need, for example, to understand specific language, and they too are often left to struggle. The shortcomings in how work is matched to pupils’ needs result in gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

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Commentary

107. Marking is inconsistent and is unsatisfactory overall. Work is acknowledged and some teachers provide useful comments. However, few of these are followed up and marking does little to help pupils to improve their work. In many classes, not enough attention is paid to careful presentation and to the development of literacy skills. In Years 2, 4 and 5 particularly, there is much unfinished work by all groups of pupils. As a result of the unsatisfactory marking, errors in knowledge and understanding are not rectified and pupils do not learn from their mistakes.

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Commentary

108. There is satisfactory use and development of mathematical skills in science, as, for instance, when pupils record the results of tests in tables and graphs. However, there is too little use of computers as a means of recording and presenting findings or for research. Whitnash Primary School - 27 109. The leadership and management of the subject are unsatisfactory. Over the period since the last inspection, the school’s leadership and management have been too slow to develop the subject and deal with weaknesses. Inadequacies in teaching and the curriculum have not been sharply enough identified, with the result that standards are falling and pupils are underachieving.

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Commentary

110. The teacher overseeing provision during the absence of the co-ordinator has rightly identified weaknesses and has begun to take appropriate action. She has reviewed and introduced new procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment in science and for keeping track of their progress. However, the use of these procedures is only at an early stage and is not so far improving pupils’ progress.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• There is significant underachievement and standards are below the level expected nationally. • Resources are unsatisfactory and do not adequately support teaching and learning. • There is very little use and development of pupils’ ICT skills in other subjects. • The pace of development and improvement of provision is too slow.

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Commentary

111. Standards in ICT are below the level expected nationally at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. This is the case across all strands of the subject in Year 6 and in almost all aspects of the subject in Year 2. Standards at the end of Year 2 are lower than they were at the last inspection. They have not improved since the last inspection at the end of Year 6. Pupils throughout Years 1 to 6 are underachieving and working below their capabilities.

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Commentary

112. Some ICT skills are at the expected level in Year 2. For example, pupils in Year 2 can use the mouse to click and drag, and alter text by changing the font, colour and size. However, overall standards are below the level expected at this age because pupils do not have the experience and independence necessary to develop and apply these skills in other subjects. Although all pupils throughout the school now have access to the full ICT curriculum, which was not the case at the last inspection, many parts of the curriculum are taught at only a basic level, particularly in Years 3 to 6. For example, although pupils in Year 6 have put data into a spreadsheet they are unable to use formulae to perform calculations.

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Commentary

113. The overall quality of teaching and learning is unsatisfactory, in particular because teachers are not using and developing pupils’ ICT skills across the subjects. Teachers often give all the pupils in the class the same work and do not focus well enough on the learning needs of pupils of different capabilities. For example, in a lesson in Year 3, lower-attaining pupils struggled to complete their work because the work did not take account of their underdeveloped literacy and keyboard skills.

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Commentary

114. In lessons taught by the headteacher, who is the subject co-ordinator, work is explained clearly and skills are taught accurately. Teaching is based on good subject knowledge. In these lessons, specific terms, such as ‘font’, ‘import’ and ‘insert data’ are used correctly, As a result, pupils use the right language themselves and this allows them to understand the procedures to which they are introduced. Short ‘hands on’ tasks interspersed with whole-class teaching help pupils to do well in these lessons. 115. For one hour each week pupils in each class use the computer room to learn new skills and to practise their existing skills. However, the computer room is not used enough at other times and there are no computers in classrooms for pupils in Years 1 to 6 to use. Teachers’ Whitnash Primary School - 28 planning does not adequately identify opportunities for ICT across the curriculum. As a result,

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Commentary

pupils do not have sufficient time to practise the skills they learn in the computer room and do not use computers as a tool to support learning in other subjects. This is a major reason for standards not being high enough.

p.30

Commentary

116. The leadership and management of ICT are unsatisfactory. There is insufficient checking of pupils’ progress and there is not a clear enough focus on raising standards. Although the co- ordinator has identified the need to develop the use of computers in other subjects, no adequate action has been taken to achieve this. Improvement since the last inspection is unsatisfactory. Most of the weaknesses identified at that time still remain.

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

117. The provision for ICT across the curriculum is unsatisfactory. ICT does not support learning in other subjects. Although pupils use the computer room once each week to learn skills, the overall effectiveness of teaching and the curriculum is reduced by the lack of ICT-related activities in other lessons. For example, opportunities are missed for pupils to use data- handling programs in mathematics and science.

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HUMANITIES

Provision in geography and history was sampled through an analysis of pupils’ work and teachers’ planning, discussions with teachers and pupils and observing teaching in one history lesson. Not enough evidence was gathered to make secure judgements on the overall provision in these subjects. However it is evident that in both subjects work is not covered in sufficient depth and, as a result, pupils do not gain a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of a range of cultures.

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Geography

118. There is little evidence of coverage of the geography curriculum. Much of the recorded work, especially in Years 4 to 6, is of poor quality. Teachers do not plan work so that pupils’ geographical knowledge, understanding and skills develop as they move up through the school. For example, although pupils in Year 1 draw maps of their local environment and label manmade features, pupils’ mapping skills are not consistently developed in other year groups.

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Geography

119. Teachers do not adapt the work in geography to meet the pupils’ differing needs and, as a result, pupils underachieve. There are a few links between history and geography. For example, pupils in Year 2 locate the river Nile on a map of Egypt when studying Ancient Egypt. However, teachers often miss opportunities to make connections with other subjects, such as mathematics. There are few opportunities for pupils to use computers to support their learning.

p.30

Geography

120. There are a few visits, which successfully support pupils’ learning in geography. For example, Year 1 pupils draw maps after a visit to the local area and Year 6 pupils study a river during their residential visit to North Wales. However, these opportunities are fewer than in most schools. The co-ordinator has an action plan for the development of provision but this is not sharply enough focused on how to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Many of the weaknesses from the last inspection remain.

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History

121. There is little evidence that pupils develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in history as they move up through the school. For example, when all pupils in the school study the Whitnash Primary School - 29 same topic, such as Ancient Egypt, pupils’ knowledge is developed at only a very rudimentary level and there is evidence that they underachieve. At times, pupils have knowledge and understanding that is factually incorrect. For example, pupils in Year 2 do not know why the Ancient Egyptians built pyramids. Some pupils believe that Egyptian mummies come to life and chase people. When the pupils expressed these views during a lesson, their teacher did not correct their misunderstanding. There are some examples of pupils developing their writing skills in history lessons. However, when this happens, the historical focus of the lesson is sometimes lost. As a result, pupils’ learning in history is not moved on sufficiently.

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History

122. The co-ordinator has recently drawn up plans to develop pupils’ knowledge, understanding and key skills systematically, and to make links with other subjects, such as geography. However, these plans have not yet been implemented. She has also collected examples of pupils’ work and assessed them against national criteria. Although this is helpful to colleagues, there has not been sufficient time for this to lead to any improvement in pupils’ progress and in the standards they attain.

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Religious education

Provision in religious education is unsatisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils are underachieving and working below the standards set by the locally agreed syllabus. • Teaching and the curriculum are unsatisfactory and do not adequately develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding. • Leadership and management are unsatisfactory and are not identifying and rectifying weaknesses in the provision.

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Commentary

123. In Year 2 and Year 6, standards in religious education are below the expectations set by the locally agreed syllabus. Standards are lower now than at the last inspection and there is underachievement in all but Years 1 and 3. Although pupils in Year 6 are interested in religious education and want to know about other faiths, they do not have the knowledge and understanding expected for their age. Pupils have only very basic knowledge of the faiths they study, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Sikhism.

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Commentary

124. The quality of teaching and learning is inconsistent, patchy and unsatisfactory overall. In Year 1, pupils are given good opportunities to record their knowledge and understanding in a variety of interesting and creative ways. These not only consolidate pupils’ learning in religious education but also contribute to the development of skills in other subjects, such as English and art and design. In Years 2, 4, 5 and 6 there is not enough recorded work in religious education. This lack of recording limits the extent to which pupils can reflect on and develop their ideas. It also makes assessment of pupils’ knowledge and understanding difficult for teachers.

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Commentary

125. An example of good teaching and learning was seen in Year 3. In this lesson, the pace of learning was brisk. The teacher made good use of a range of methods including role-play and other activities that involved pupils in working together. As a result, pupils’ learning about the Salvation Army and the army’s service to others because of belief in God, was meaningful and enjoyable. It contributed well to pupils’ spiritual development. By contrast, in a lesson in Year 6 in which teaching and learning were unsatisfactory, pupils lost interest and ‘switched off’ or talked amongst themselves. Pupils responded in this way because the teaching was dull and they were uncomfortable after sitting for too long cross-legged on the carpet.

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Commentary

126. Teachers do not sufficiently challenge pupils who are capable of higher attainment. Evidence, from the limited recorded work, shows that pupils are all given similar learning tasks, Whitnash Primary School - 30 regardless of their individual needs and capabilities. Many of these activities, particularly in Years 4 to 6, are at a low level and are undemanding, such as sequencing pictures, drawing or copying writing. For older pupils, in particular, this restricts the extent to which they can express their knowledge and understanding through extended pieces of writing. As a result of these weaknesses, all pupils, including those with special educational needs and those who have English as an additional language, are unable to make sufficient progress over time.

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Commentary

127. Visits to local churches and visits from representatives of different Christian denominations provide suitable enrichment of the curriculum. As a result, pupils gain first-hand knowledge about Christian customs and celebrations. However, there are few opportunities for pupils to visit places of worship of other faiths or for visitors from other faiths to talk to pupils. As a result, pupils are not prepared sufficiently well for life in a culturally diverse society.

p.32

Commentary

128. The leadership and management of religious education are unsatisfactory. There is too little checking of the quality of teaching and the curriculum and of how they contribute to pupils’ learning. As a result, the weaknesses in provision have not been identified and action is not being taken to rectify them. Standards have declined and the subject has not developed well enough since the last inspection.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Provision in the creative, aesthetic, practical and physical subjects was sampled through lesson observations, an analysis of pupils’ work and teachers’ planning, and discussions with teachers and pupils. Not enough evidence was gathered to make a secure overall judgement on the quality of provision in each subject.

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Art and design

129. In the one lesson seen in Year ,1 pupils worked at the level expected for their age and their achievement was satisfactory. This lesson was the introductory session to a week of afternoons spent on art and design activities. Pupils enjoyed working with a variety of materials and exploring natural objects. For example, they used charcoal to draw flowers from observation and then added colour using natural dyes made from fruits and spices. They also made observational drawings of pebbles and shells. These activities were sufficiently ‘open ended’ to allow the most capable pupils to work at a higher level than the others. Pupils behaved well, showed themselves to be trustworthy, and maintained their involvement when working without direct adult support.

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Art and design

130. Teachers’ planning indicates that pupils experience a satisfactory range of activities in art and design as they move up through the school. Whilst the practice of teaching the subject in week-long blocks of time allows pupils to explore a project in depth, the absence of regular art and design lessons between the blocks of time limits the continuous development of knowledge, understanding and skills. Furthermore, should a pupil be absent from school during their class art week, they miss a significant amount of work. Although pupils are introduced to the work of some famous artists, these are mainly artists from Western European backgrounds. Work in this subject does not make any significant contribution to the development of pupils’ awareness of cultural diversity.

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Design and technology

131. The evidence indicates that there has been satisfactory improvement in the provision for design and technology since the last inspection. Examples of pupils’ products, designs and evaluations show standards close to those expected in Years 2 and 6. Pupils learn a range of joining techniques such as the use of split pins and stitching in Years 1 and 2, and make Whitnash Primary School - 31 animals with moving parts using simple levers. In Year 3, they learn to devise mechanisms such as simple pneumatic systems to make moving models; while in Years 4 and 5, pupils investigate and design money containers and use electricity to design and make a torch. In Year 6, pupils design and make slippers, including a paper prototype.

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Design and technology

132. There is a shortcoming in the design and technology curriculum. Lessons are restricted to one week of blocked time each term. This enables skills to be developed systematically and followed through to the finished product within a short timescale. However, as there is no ongoing, regular development of skills and techniques, pupils who are absent during their class design and technology week fail to learn specific skills and miss out on a particular experience.

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Music

133. No lessons were observed in music. However, it is clear that music no longer has the prominent place in the school that it had at the last inspection. The weekly singing practices for the whole school shown on the timetable have ceased because the member of staff who took these sessions has left the school. Whilst pupils have the opportunity to learn to play the violin or steel pans, there is no longer a wide range of extra-curricular activities to enrich their experiences. Music does not make the significant contribution to the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development that it did at the last inspection.

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Physical education

134. The evidence indicates that pupils are provided with a satisfactory range of learning opportunities in physical education. In the two lessons seen, in Years 3 and 6, pupils worked at the level expected for their age. Year 6 pupils successfully participated in a team game of rounders and paid appropriate attention to the rules. Pupils in Year 3 developed their skills in striking and fielding well.

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Physical education

135. In both lessons, pupils participated enthusiastically, co-operated with others and willingly took turns. The teachers demonstrated secure subject knowledge and structured the lessons appropriately. In the Year 3 lesson, teaching and learning were good. Pupils achieved well in this lesson because of the brisk pace, which kept them involved, and the teacher’s sharp focus on what she wanted them to learn.

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Physical education

136. The school no longer offers pupils the good range of activities additional to lessons that were provided at the last inspection. There is now only one extra-curricular activity, which the headteacher runs with the support of parents. There are no longer good opportunities for pupils to be involved in competitive sport. Physical education does not contribute to pupils’ personal development as well as it did.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

137. Provision in this area was sampled. One lesson was seen in Year 6. Not enough evidence was gathered to make a secure judgement about the overall quality of provision.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

138. The range of learning opportunities for personal, social and health education is satisfactory. It provides appropriate activities that support learning about diet, health, sex and relationships Whitnash Primary School - 32 education, the dangers of drugs misuse and personal safety, as well as emotional health and well-being. The school helps pupils to develop a safe and healthy lifestyle, gain confidence and develop good relationships. There are good contributions from outside agencies, such as the school nurse and the local police officer, and the education life bus visits the school.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

139. In lesson in Year 6 in which teaching and learning were good, pupils were given opportunities to role-play real-life situations and to try to resolve problems caused by peer pressure. These scenarios involved responding to moral, social and health issues such as smoking, drug taking, stealing and vandalism. Pupils took the issues seriously and responded well, individually and in groups. The lesson made a good contribution to their personal development and well-being.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

140. Pupils’ involvement with the school council provides an adequate opportunity for them to experience certain aspects of democracy at first hand and to feel valued as school citizens. However, the school council is underdeveloped and there are missed opportunities to use it as a means of developing pupils’ sense of responsibility. There are also few opportunities for pupils to develop citizenship and a sense of responsibility through opportunities to work with younger children and to take greater responsibility within the school and wider community. Whitnash Primary School - 33

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The overall effectiveness of the school 5

How inclusive the school is 5 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 5 Value for money provided by the school 5

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 5

Attendance 4 Attitudes 4 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 4 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 5

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The quality of education provided by the school 5

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

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The leadership and management of the school 5

The governance of the school 4 The leadership of the headteacher 5 The leadership of other key staff 5 The effectiveness of management 5

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The leadership and management of the school 5

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); Whitnash Primary School - 34 poor (6); very poor (7).

p.35