1 February 2005
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?
Aberlady Primary School was inspected in October 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 all 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 the chairperson of the School Board, representatives of the parent-teacher association (PTA) and a group of parents.
The school serves the village of Aberlady and the surrounding area. At the time of the inspection the roll was 158, including 32 in the nursery class. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was below the national average. Pupils’ attendance was above the national average. At the time of the inspection the headteacher was out of the school and an acting headteacher had been in post for some weeks.
An integrated inspection of pre-school provision was carried out at the same time by HMIE and the Care Commission and is the subject of a separate report.
|
HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths.
|
Parents, staff and pupils were generally very supportive and positive about the school. Parents thought that their children enjoyed being in school, though some thought the work was not sufficiently challenging for their child. They found school reports informative and helpful. A number of parents thought that the accommodation in the school, and in particular the hall, was now too small for the number of pupils. Pupils liked the school, and enjoyed their work in classes. They thought their teachers were good at explaining things and made them work hard. Some pupils had concerns about the behaviour in the playground, but most thought that school staff dealt effectively with these issues. Staff all enjoyed working in the school. They thought the pupils were polite, confident and positive about learning. They felt that they all worked well as a team, and that they had good opportunities to be involved in improving the school.
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The school provided a broad, balanced and well planned curriculum. Specialist teachers in physical education and music worked well with class teachers to provide good learning experiences in these areas of the curriculum. Pupils in P6 and P7 were making good progress in French through a lively and well-presented programme. Pupils’ personal and social skills were well developed through a range of activities across the curriculum, including discussion about rights and responsibilities. Almost all teachers planned and organised their lessons well. They had developed a calm orderly environment for learning. They shared the aims of lessons with pupils and reinforced learning points at the end of lessons. They interacted well with pupils in class, making good use of praise and explaining to pupils what they needed to do to improve. They used questioning well to keep children interested and involved in lessons and to confirm their understanding. However, in most classes teachers did not use questioning sufficiently to extend and challenge children’s thinking. Staff planned for the use of information communication technology (ICT) to develop pupils’ skills and enhance learning. However, this was not always achieved because of limited access to appropriate technology.
Pupils settled quickly in class and co-operated well with their teachers. In most classes they collaborated well in pairs and small groups on shared tasks, for example, in discussing a poem and in designing a model croft. They participated enthusiastically in practical activities, such as science and technology, gathering information and recording it appropriately. There were some very good examples of pupils planning and carrying out a research task independently in the early years. In most classes the pace of learning in individual lessons was good. However, overall, teachers did not take sufficent account of the range of ability of the pupils nor provide enough challenge for higher achieving pupils during class lessons or in their course work. Some higher achieving pupils were becoming less enthusiastic about their learning
Pupils at all stages were making good progress in developing confidence, self-esteem and respect for others and for the environment of the school. At P5/P6 pupils worked very well in pairs to design board games which aimed to reinforce how to behave in school. At the time of the inspection opportunities to take on additional responsibilities and be actively involved in the life of the school were limited to pupils at P7, who acted as junior road safety officers and helped younger children in the playground. Pupils and parents had worked together to develop a sensory garden in the grounds of the school, and pupils had also contributed to an attractive outdoor mural. Pupils had enjoyed success in a range of competitions including art, mathematics, a national Euro quiz and a ‘Be an Inventor’ competition. Outdoor education experiences helped develop independence and confidence, for example, canoeing on the River Tyne for P6 pupils, and attendance at a residential camp for P7 pupils. Pupils learned to be aware of the needs of others through fundraising for a range of local and national charities. Pupils enjoyed taking part in a variety of after school activities including those organised by the authority’s co-ordinator with responsibility for developing physical activity in schools.
English language
The overall quality of attainment in English language was good. The school had made progress in improving attainment in reading and writing. Most pupils were attaining appropriate national levels in reading, writing, listening and talking and at the early stages most were attaining these levels early. Some pupils had not yet attained these levels because the pace of learning in course work was too slow. Pupils were confident in describing their experiences and expressed their ideas clearly. Most pupils listened attentively and responded well to teachers’ questions but were not so good at listening to each other or participating in group discussion. At all stages most pupils read fluently and with understanding. Some read widely for enjoyment. Pupils at P1 had made a very good start to developing early literacy skills. However some were capable of progressing at a faster rate. At P3 pupils made effective use of reference books to find information. At P6/P7 pupils wrote well for practical purposes. At all stages pupils achieved good standards in writing but some were capable of progressing more quickly. Pupils had insufficient opportunities to develop their writing skills through the use of computers for word-processing.
Mathematics
The overall quality of attainment in mathematics was good. In recent years attainment in mathematics showed signs of improvement. Almost all pupils at the early stages had achieved appropriate national levels of attainment and almost all had done so by the end of P2. Most pupils from P4 to P7 had achieved appropriate national levels of achievement. However, some pupils, particularly at the upper stages, were progressing too slowly through attainment levels. Teachers did not challenge the highest attaining pupils enough. Some pupils were not quick enough or accurate enough in their mental calculations. Pupils at all stages had a very good knowledge of 2D and 3D shape, but were less secure in their understanding of money, measurement and fractions. Pupils in most classes could use a variety of strategies in problem-solving and enquiry.
All staff knew the pupils well and were attentive to their social, emotional and physical needs. The support staff made a very good contribution to the care and welfare of pupils. They had very positive relationships with pupils and ensured they were safe and happy in school. All staff understood clearly how to respond to issues relating to the protection of children. Arrangements for pupils requiring medication or first aid were very good. Children were well supervised in the playground. Staff had dealt effectively with some inappropriate behaviour in the playground.
Class teachers and the learning support teacher worked well together to identify and plan support for pupils experiencing difficulties in their learning. They had devised appropriate individualised educational programmes for some pupils, which had helped these pupils make good progress in their learning. Classroom assistants worked closely with the learning support teacher and class teachers to provide very good support for individuals and small groups of pupils in class. However, teachers did not take sufficient account of the needs of higher achieving pupils.
|
Aspect |
Comment |
|
Quality of accommodation and facilities |
The overall quality of the accommodation was good. It was well-maintained, very clean and well organised for learning. At the time of the inspection the library was used as a classroom, limiting pupils’ access to resources. The hall was quite small but was used effectively for a range of activities, including lunch, PE and French and could accommodate whole school assemblies. The outdoor area provided a very good environment for pupils at break times and for learning activities. |
|
Climate and relationships, expectations and promoting achievement and equality |
Staff had developed a supportive, welcoming environment in school. Pupils were well-behaved and courteous. All staff, including visiting teachers and support staff worked well as a team. The pupil council had not met consistently and pupils did not feel it had made much impact on the life of the school. Some pupils felt that the school staff did not take sufficient account of their views. All staff expected pupils to be well-behaved, responsible and polite in school. Staff were fair in their dealings with pupils, and pupils were, on the whole, considerate in their dealings with each other. However the teachers’ expectations of pupils’ attainment were too low. There was not sufficient focus on actively promoting pupils’ understanding of race equality. Regular whole school assemblies provided opportunities for celebrating success as well as religious observance. |
|
Partnership with parents and the community |
Relationships between parents, the community and the school were very good. Parents received very helpful reports on children’s progress in school, regular informative newsletters and had good opportunities to comment on school developments. The School Board had assisted the school by undertaking an extensive consultation with parents on all aspects of school life. Parents were kept well informed about the work of the School Board. The PTA was very supportive of the school, and PTA activities, such as the school fair provided a good link between the school and the village community. Members of the community were regularly invited into the school. |
Aberlady Primary School provided a good quality of education for its pupils in a caring environment. Pupils were confident and were developing good personal and social skills. In almost all classes, teaching was consistently good. There were some examples of very effective teaching for example in writing, in listening and talking at P1 and P3, listening to and responding to poetry, and in aspects of health and personal and social education. Staff provided good support for all pupils, including those experiencing specific difficulties in their learning. Most, including those receiving additional support, were attaining well in English language and mathematics. Some were capable of attaining higher standards.
Overall, leadership was good. Both the headteacher and current acting headteacher had gained the respect and confidence of staff, pupils and parents. They had encouraged the celebration of pupils’ achievement. The acting head teacher had established very good relationships with staff and pupils in her short time in post. The headteacher had a clear vision for the development of the school and had established a strong sense of teamwork. In conjunction with the school board she had recently carried out a comprehensive audit of parental views. The information from the audit was used to inform development priorities. She had worked closely with staff to monitor and evaluate the strengths and development needs of the school. She reviewed forward plans, visited classes to evaluate teaching and learning and tracked pupils’ progress. She now needed to use the information gathered through self-evaluation in a more rigorous way to increase pace and challenge in order to improve the attainment of some pupils.
The school and education authority should take action to improve learning, teaching and achievement. In doing so they should take account of the need to:
|
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. Within two years of the publication of this report parents and carers will be informed about the progress made by the school.
Christine Knight
HM Inspector
1 February 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 |
|
|
|
What pleased pupils most |
What pupils would like to see improved |
|
|
|
What pleased staff most |
What staff would like to see improved |
|
|
Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and school staff, the Director of Education and Community Services, 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, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA or by telephoning 01506 600384. 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 the above address. 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 2005
HM Inspectorate of Education
This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for commercial purposes or in connection with a prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are stated.