26 April 2005
1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. What are the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff?
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
5. How well are pupils supported?
6. How good is the environment for learning?
7. Improving the school
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
How can you contact us?
Rosebank Primary School was inspected in January 2005 as part of a national sample of primary education. The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school at all stages. It evaluated pupils’ achievements, the effectiveness of the school, the environment for learning, the school’s processes for self-evaluation and capacity for improvement. There was a particular focus on attainment in English language and mathematics.
HM Inspectors examined pupils’ work and interviewed groups of pupils, including members of the pupil council, and staff. Members of the inspection team met a group of parents. There was no School Board or parent-teacher association.
The school serves an area of central Dundee. At the time of the inspection the roll was 147. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was well above the national average. Pupils’ attendance was well below the national average.
HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths.
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HM Inspectors assessed the school’s processes for self-evaluation. They analysed responses to questionnaires issued to a sample of parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2.
Overall, parents and carers, pupils and staff were very positive about the school. Parents felt that their children enjoyed being at school and that the school had a good reputation in the local community. Whilst they did not have a School Board or parent-teacher association, they felt involved in the life of the school. They felt that staff were approachable and made them feel welcome, and they were pleased with the way the school was led. Pupils were very happy with the school. They enjoyed being at school and felt teachers explained things clearly. They were particularly pleased with the encouragement they received from staff when they had done something well. A few felt that not all pupils behaved well. Teachers, ancillary and support staff were very positive about all aspects of the work of the school. In particular, they felt that they were valued highly as members of a team.
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The curriculum had appropriate breadth and gave pupils good opportunities to develop a wide range of knowledge, understanding and skills. However, there were important weaknesses in the coverage of some key aspects of English language and mathematics. In some lessons, coursework was not sufficiently well matched to pupils’ abilities. The school had identified some of these weaknesses and was in the process of making major improvements to the programmes for English language and mathematics. Recent improvements to the programmes for information and communications technology (ICT), science and technology were having a positive impact on the quality of pupils’ learning. At the early stages pupils had appropriate opportunities to learn through play. The quality of teaching was generally good overall. Teachers gave clear explanations and encouraged pupils through appropriate use of praise. In several lessons, teaching was very effective with high quality interactions between teachers and pupils. Pupils in these lessons worked at a brisk pace and were fully engaged in appropriate learning activities. However, on occasion, teaching was not suitably matched to the needs of some pupils. Homework was well planned and set appropriately throughout the school.
In all lessons, pupils were attentive and responsive to their teachers. Pupils generally worked hard in most lessons and, at the P1-P2 stages, they were very well motivated and making good progress. However, for a significant number of pupils from P3 to P7, the pace of learning in some lessons was too slow and there was insufficient scope for pupils to develop and apply skills independently. In some lessons at the middle and upper stages, pupils were not given enough responsibility for their own learning. Overall, the quality of learning experiences was fair.
Pupils had good opportunities to broaden their achievements through a wide range of learning experiences, including extra-curricular activities. Pupils in P1/P2 enjoyed moving to music, and pupils from a number of stages were developing good musical skills on a wide range of instruments through individual instrumental tuition. Within their environmental studies programme, pupils in P2/P3 worked constructively together to design a house. In P6, pupils’ skills benefited from very high quality teaching and learning when working together on a collaborative task to build and programme robots.
Throughout the school, pupils’ artwork was of a good standard, for example in P6, where imaginative paintings were linked to a class topic on the Jacobites. Pupils in P5 were developing good skills in sewing.
English language
The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was fair. Attainment had improved over the last few years. Most pupils attained appropriate national levels in listening, talking and reading, and a majority of pupils attained these levels in writing. Pupils from P1 to P3 were making good progress in developing early skills in reading and writing. Most pupils listened and responded appropriately to questions but were less skilled in talking with classmates. Most pupils read aloud confidently. A few pupils in P7 talked knowledgeably about the books they had read and their favourite authors, but too few pupils read a sufficient range of books. The school and class libraries required to be better organised and updated in order to attract and motivate pupils to read. There were important weaknesses in writing across the school. Pupils were not given appropriate opportunities to write at length or for a variety of purposes. The quality of pupils’ handwriting and presentation required further improvement.
Mathematics
The overall quality of attainment in mathematics was fair. Standards had fluctuated over the last few years. Almost all pupils at P1-P3, and a majority at P4-P7 achieved appropriate national levels of attainment in information handling, number, money and measurement, and shape, position and movement. In information handling, most pupils could interpret data appropriate to their stage. In number, money and measurement, most pupils had a good grasp of number facts. However, by P7, pupils’ learning in a number of areas was insecure. Pupils’ understanding of aspects of shape, measurement, fractions, decimals and percentages had been insufficiently consolidated due to weaknesses in the programme, assessment, and meeting pupils’ needs. Pupils had developed some problem-solving skills but did not draw on these readily in a range of classwork.
The quality of pastoral care was very good. Staff placed a high priority on ensuring pupils’ care and welfare. Effective procedures were in place both to discourage and address any instances of bullying. Arrangements for child protection were appropriate. A good range of extra-curricular activities, including an annual residential trip for P7 pupils, helped to promote and develop pupils’ personal and social skills. Staff used circle time to help pupils consider a range of issues, and the pupil council was beginning to make an increasing contribution to the life of the school.
All staff worked together to address sensitively the needs and concerns of pupils. The provision of support for learning was generally good but at times deployment should have been more effectively planned to maximise impact. The provision for behaviour support was having a positive impact on the climate for learning and teaching across the school. Individualised educational programmes (IEPs) were provided for pupils who required additional help to support their learning. The IEPs were comprehensive, with clear learning targets. Appropriate arrangements were in place to support the transition of P7 pupils to secondary school, for example through a recently-devised bridging project, and for the induction of P1 pupils into the school.
Aspect |
Comment |
Quality of accommodation and facilities |
The quality of accommodation and facilities was very good. Classrooms were bright and spacious, and staff made effective use of the available space. Display of pupils’ work was of high quality throughout the school. The school made very effective use of its surplus teaching areas to enhance the learning environment, for example to create an area for teaching science and technology. The school had appropriate arrangements for security. |
Climate and relationships, expectations and promoting achievement and equality |
The school had a welcoming atmosphere. Relationships between and among staff and pupils were very good. Ancillary staff felt very much part of the team. Pupils and staff were proud of the school and morale was high. Staff had appropriately high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, but the school’s expectations of attainment should be raised. Pupils had increasingly useful opportunities to be involved in decision-making through the pupil council. Pupils’ achievements both in and out of school were recognised and celebrated through display and in assemblies. The school had appropriate arrangements for religious observance in assemblies. Staff were very alert to the need to promote race equality through their pastoral work with pupils and ensured that all pupils were treated with equality and fairness. Pupils were given very good opportunities to reflect on world issues from a variety of religious perspectives, for example in assemblies. |
Partnership with parents and the community |
The school had good partnerships with parents and the community. Staff encouraged parents to participate in the life of the school, but did not have formal links because a School Board and parent-teacher association had not been established. Parents were very supportive of school events. The school provided helpful newsletters, leaflets on aspects such as health education, and a comprehensive school handbook. The chaplain supported the school well, for example in leading assemblies, and the school also had very positive links with a range of community groups and organisations. The school was well supported in some aspects of its work by the education authority. For example, staff tutors provided a very high quality learning experience in technology for pupils and staff. |
Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.
The school provided a settled and happy learning environment. Pupils in some lessons benefited from high quality learning and teaching which addressed their needs effectively. However, the overall quality of pupils’ attainment was too variable across the school because of weaknesses in some programmes and aspects of learning and teaching.
The headteacher managed the day-to-day work of the school well. He worked hard to maintain the school’s purposeful working climate by providing effective pastoral support to staff and pupils, and was highly regarded by them. The headteacher valued his staff highly but now needed to work more directly with them to improve programmes and aspects of learning and teaching. The headteacher was well supported by the depute headteacher, who had overall responsibility for the early stages. The school had an appropriate range of systems for monitoring and evaluating its work but had not used these with sufficient rigour to impact significantly on pupils’ attainment. The school had identified some weaknesses in teaching programmes, but systems for evaluating the quality of learning and teaching and for tracking pupils’ progress were insufficiently robust.
Main points for action The school and education authority should take action to improve pupils’ attainment. In doing so they should take account of the need to:
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What happens next?
The school and the education authority have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan with parents and carers. HM Inspectors will engage with the school and the education authority to monitor progress. They will publish an interim report on progress within one year of the publication of this report. Thereafter, HM Inspectors will continue to engage with the school and the education authority in monitoring progress, and will undertake a follow-through inspection. This will result in another report to parents and carers, within two years of the publication of this report, on the extent of improvement that has been achieved.
Graham Norris
HM Inspector
26 April 2005
We judged the following to be very good
We judged the following to be good
We judged the following to be fair
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires are listed below.
What pleased parents and carers most |
What parents and carers would like to see improved |
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What pleased pupils most |
What pupils would like to see improved |
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What pleased staff most |
What staff would like to see improved |
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If you would like an additional copy of this report
Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and school staff, the Director of Education, local councillors and appropriate Members of the Scottish Parliament. Subject to availability, further copies may be obtained free of charge from HM Inspectorate of Education, Wellgate House (Level 5), The Wellgate, Dundee DD1 2DB or by telephoning 01382 224155. Copies are also available on our website www.hmie.gov.uk .
If you wish to comment about primary inspections
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of primary inspections, you should write in the first instance to Frank Crawford, HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to Hazel Dewart, Business Management Unit, HM Inspectorate of Education, 2nd Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from this office or by telephoning 01506 600265 or from our website at www.hmie.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should write to The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 4-6 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7NS. You can also telephone 0870 011 5378 or e-mail enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.scottishombudsman.org.uk
Crown Copyright 2005
HM Inspectorate of Education
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