31 August 2004
1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. 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?
St Pius’ Roman Catholic Primary School was inspected in May 2004 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 and the environment for learning. There was a particular focus on attainment in English language and mathematics.
HM Inspectors examined pupils’ work and interviewed staff and pupils. They assessed the school’s processes for self-evaluation. They analysed responses to questionnaires issued to parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2. Members of the inspection team also met representatives of the parent teacher association (PTA) and the parish priest. There was no School Board.
The school is a denominational school and mainly serves the Douglas area to the east of Dundee. At the time of the inspection, the roll was 166. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was above the national average. Pupils’ attendance was below the national average.
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HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths.
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Around a quarter of parents and carers responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire. Those who responded were generally positive about the work of the school. They felt their children enjoyed being at school and found work stimulating and challenging. A significant number did not feel the school was good at consulting them and that the school did not always take action if they raised a matter of concern. Teaching staff were positive about the work of the school. Teachers felt they set high standards, provided constructive feedback to pupils on their work and showed concern for pupils’ care and welfare. However, the majority of teaching and support staff wanted senior promoted staff to improve communication and to respond more effectively to any concerns they raised. Pupils were generally positive about the school. They thought that teachers expected them to work hard, explained things clearly and helped them if they were having difficulty. A few did not feel that the school was good at dealing with bullying.
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The overall quality of the curriculum was good. There was a significant allocation of time to the teaching of mathematics, reading and writing skills. The programme in information and communications technology (ICT) enabled pupils to develop their skills progressively across the stages. The school was introducing new local authority courses in science and social subjects, but there was no technology programme. The school did not monitor the balance of time allocated to areas of the curriculum carefully enough to ensure that pupils’ entitlements were consistently met. Overall, the curriculum was well delivered and teaching was of a consistently good quality. Teachers shared the purposes of lessons well and gave clear explanations. They made good use of praise. In almost half the lessons seen, teachers created very good opportunities for pupils to work together and be active in their own learning. Visiting teachers contributed effectively to the delivery of provision in art, music, physical education and drama.
Almost all pupils were well motivated, enthusiastic and on task. In P1, pupils collaborated very well on paired and group tasks. At other stages, there were some very good examples of learning activities that engaged pupils in thinking for themselves and undertaking research tasks. Pupils responded positively to these opportunities. In P5, pupils were engaged very effectively in self- and peer-assessment of their writing using clear guidance provided by the teacher and included in their personal learning plans. Overall, there was a good pace to learning and, at all stages, pupils made very good progress from their prior levels of attainment in mathematics and reading. The school did do enough to build on these examples of best practice and to implement these approaches consistently across all classes and areas of the curriculum. By the upper stages, pupils had well-developed research skills and were able to find key information using text books and computers. They were generally skilled in the use of ICT. Pupils in P4 were able to sequence photographs into broad historical periods. P5 made effective use of websites and atlases to develop their knowledge of countries around the world. P6 pupils were able to construct an electrical circuit, were aware of planets orbiting the sun and what caused a solar eclipse, and were skilled in the use of computer programs to plot and draw shapes. P7 pupils could use computers very effectively to make presentations on their environmental studies topics.
Throughout the school, there was a strong emphasis on promoting healthy eating and pupils in the early stages showed a very good understanding of the need to eat healthily. The school organised school based competitions in draughts, chess and singing. Pupils were also encouraged to take part in sports teams. The netball and football team had achieved success in league competitions. Pupils had successfully represented the school in Dundee schools’ cross-country and athletics championships. A pupil had also achieved success in a nationally organised Robert Burns singing competition.
English language
The overall quality of attainment in English language was good. Across the stages, attainment in reading had improved over the last three years, but it had declined in writing over the same period. Levels of attainment in reading were very good. Across the school, almost all pupils were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment in reading. Most were achieving these levels in writing. At all stages, a significant number of pupils were working beyond these levels. Although the school reported levels of attainment in talking and listening, it did not have reliable arrangements for planning and assessing pupils’ progress in these areas. Pupils in the early years were making a very good start to the development of their early literacy skills. Across the school, most pupils produced sustained and well structured writing for a range of purposes. They presented their written work well. Standards of handwriting, spelling and punctuation were good. Pupils read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts. They could read and understand the main ideas in texts very well.
Mathematics
The quality of attainment in mathematics was very good and had been improving. Almost all pupils were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment. At the early stages, the majority were exceeding these levels, although this proportion had decreased in recent years. At the upper stages, the majority of pupils were also exceeding appropriate national levels. This proportion had been steadily increasing at P7, but was more variable at P6. Pupils at all stages could solve mathematical problems accurately. They knew the properties of shapes and could interpret graphs. They carried out numerical calculations accurately, including mental calculations. However, some in P7 were less confident when making more complex conversions between fractions, decimals and percentages. They had not used spreadsheets or databases to organise and display information.
Staff were alert to the emotional, physical and social needs and concerns of individual pupils and provided due attention to the care and welfare of almost all pupils. A new health education programme had been developed. The school planned to introduce the Diocesan programme, "Education for Love", but, in the current session, staff had not provided appropriate education for pupils about responsible relationships and well-being. The depute headteacher managed the school’s arrangements for dealing with child protection cases. There were some important weaknesses in these procedures, including arrangements for the training of staff. Although incidents of concern were recorded, the school did not maintain individualised records that enabled staff to have a clear overview of cases relating to individual pupils. In some instances, important information had not been passed on appropriately. Staff did not always receive an appropriate response to concerns they had raised.
In lessons, pupils’ learning needs were well met. Teachers planned coursework carefully to help pupils achieve their next steps in learning. In the summer term, pupils in P7 attended a well organised weekly study support session at the associated secondary school. The school had introduced personal learning plans in writing for pupils in P5 and in mathematics for pupils in P7. The plans were well set out and pupils found them helpful. They were shared between teachers and pupils, but had not yet been shared with parents. Learning support staff maintained very detailed records and planned the learning of pupils with additional support needs very thoroughly. In some cases, teachers made effective use of individualised educational programmes (IEPs). These programmes set clear and specific targets. However, apart from parents’ evenings, there were limited opportunities for consulting with parents and maintaining regular communication with them about their child’s progress.
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Aspect |
Comment |
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Quality of accommodation and facilities |
The quality of accommodation was good. Classrooms were spacious and provided a bright and stimulating environment for learning. They were well maintained and equipped. The annex building contained a library and a purpose built and very well equipped ICT room. However, recent technical problems had restricted pupils’ use of this facility. There was a secure entry system to the school. The external fabric of the building was unattractive. Windows were dirty and had not been cleaned recently. There were extensive outside play areas, including a large playing field. |
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Climate and relationships, expectations and promoting achievement and equality |
Pupils and staff identified strongly with the school and were proud of it. All pupils wore school uniform. Overall standards of pupils’ behaviour and discipline were very good. Relationships among and between staff and pupils were generally positive. Staff expectations of pupils’ achievement and behaviour were high. Pupils were generally treated fairly and valued equally. However, some members of staff, particularly support staff, did not feel valued. There were daily opportunities for pupils to worship together in class. However, there were infrequent opportunities for whole school assemblies led by the headteacher at which pupils’ achievements were recognised and shared across the school. |
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Partnership with parents and the community |
The PTA was active in its support of the school. Parents arranged a number of fund raising and social activities. There was no School Board. The school produced regular newsletters for parents and arranged open afternoons to provide information on the curriculum, learning and teaching. Overall, however, the school had limited arrangements for consulting and communicating with parents. There were close links with the local parish church, but links with the wider community were more limited. |
Overall, St Pius’ Roman Catholic Primary School provided a well balanced educational experience for pupils. There was a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ mathematical, reading and writing skills. Levels of attainment in mathematics and reading were very good. The quality of teaching was of a consistently good quality, with some very good examples of active learning by pupils. Almost all pupils felt the school helped them keep safe and healthy. However, there were some important weaknesses in the school’s arrangements for dealing with incidents where vulnerable pupils were at risk.
The headteacher provided generally effective leadership. He had successfully placed a strong emphasis on achieving high levels of attainment in mathematics and reading. There were some weaknesses in the effectiveness of communication in the school and with arrangements for responding to the concerns of staff. In particular, some support staff did not feel valued. The headteacher was supported in his work by the depute headteacher. They worked very closely together as a team. Overall, however, the depute headteacher’s remit was too narrow and this limited her ability to make fully effective contributions to the work of the school. She now needed to be deployed more effectively with an increased focus on working in classrooms to support teachers in sharing best practice. Arrangements for quality assurance were of an overall good quality. The senior promoted staff met regularly with class teachers to monitor and review pupils’ progress in mathematics, reading and writing. They also evaluated aspects of learning and teaching using nationally published quality indicators. The school development plan set out a range of appropriate priorities for improvement. Teachers took responsibility for tasks set out in the development plan and had made significant contributions to the implementation of these projects. However, the school had yet to develop fully effective arrangements for consulting with parents, pupils and all staff in evaluating the impact of its work and agreeing future priorities.
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The school and education authority, in liaison with HM Inspectors, should take action to ensure improvement in:
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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 continue to engage with the school and the education authority in monitoring progress, and will ask for an interim report on progress within a year of publication of this report. They 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.
Chris Webb
HM Inspector
31 August 2004
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.
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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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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.
Should you wish to comment on or make a complaint about any aspect of the inspection or about this report, you should write in the first instance to Frank Crawford, HMCI at HM Inspectorate of Education, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from that office and on our website.
If you are still dissatisfied, you can contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman directly or through your member of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government Departments and Agencies. She will not normally consider your complaint before the HMIE complaints procedure has been used. Instead, she will usually ask you to give us the chance to put matters right if we can.
Complaints to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman must be submitted within 12 months of the date of publication of this report.
The Ombudsman can be contacted at:
Professor Alice Brown
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
4 Melville Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7NS
Telephone number: 0870 011 5378
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 2004
HM Inspectorate of Education
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