Pencaitland Primary School
and Nursery Class
East Lothian Council

2 September 2008

Contents

1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
6. How good is the environment for learning?
7. Leading and improving the school
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
Appendix 3 Good Practice
How can you contact us?

1. Background

Pencaitland Primary School and Nursery Class were inspected in May 2008 as part of a national sample of primary and nursery education. The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school at all stages. It evaluated nursery children's and pupils' achievements, the effectiveness of the school, the environment for learning, the school's processes for self-evaluation and innovation, and its capacity for improvement. There was a particular focus on attainment in English language and mathematics.

HM Inspectors examined the quality of the children's experience in the nursery, pupils' work and interviewed groups of pupils, including the pupil council, and staff. Members of the inspection team also met the chairperson of the Parent Council, representatives of the parent-teacher association (PTA) and a group of parents.

The inspection team also evaluated aspects of the school's progress in implementing national recommendations related to improving aspects of school meals provision.

The school serves the village of Pencaitland and the surrounding area. At the time of the inspection the roll was 259, including 56 children in the nursery class. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was well below the national average. Pupils’ attendance was above the national average. The school accommodated the education authority facility for children with social and emotional difficulties, managed by the East Lothian Inclusion Service.

2. Key strengths

3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?

HM Inspectors 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 were pleased with the nursery provision. They felt that the nursery staff made them feel welcome and that their children enjoyed being in the nursery class. In the primary classes, parents were very positive about the school. They felt welcome in the school and appreciated its good reputation in the local community. Their children enjoyed being at school and were well looked after. They thought that the school was well led. Pupils enjoyed being at school. They felt the school kept them safe and healthy. They thought that teachers knew them well and that they were well taught. Some were concerned about bullying. Staff, including ancillary staff, felt that the school was well led and that there was effective communication and teamwork. They liked working in the school and were confident about their roles in care and welfare.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Learners’ experiences

The quality of the curriculum was very good. Staff in the nursery class provided a suitably broad and stimulating range of learning experiences for children. In the primary classes, the curriculum was broad and balanced at all stages. Pupils had appropriate opportunities to apply their language and mathematics skills in a range of realistic contexts. The encouragement of active learning at the early stages provided pupils with a wide range of choices and good opportunities for imaginative and creative play. Programmes in environmental studies, religious and moral education and personal and social development were carefully planned and contributed well to education for citizenship. Pupils were benefiting from two hours of varied and well-planned physical education per week. The school had already engaged in innovative activities related to enterprise and health education. It was now well placed to develop further its approach to Curriculum for Excellence. The quality of teaching for effective learning was very good. Staff in the nursery had developed very positive relationships with children and used praise appropriately to motivate and encourage children’s learning. They made effective use of questioning and discussion to develop their ideas. Across the primary stages, lessons were consistently well planned and taught. Teachers ensured that pupils were made fully aware of the aims of lessons. Most reviewed regularly what had been learned. The pace of lessons was well judged. Overall, teachers used a wide range of approaches, including whole class, group and individual teaching. Information and communications technology (ICT) was used effectively. There was appropriate and regular homework.

Children’s learning experiences in the nursery class were very good. Most children responded well to the play experiences offered and were well motivated. They showed increasing independence and were confident about expressing their ideas in a variety of ways. In the primary classes, pupils were highly motivated, enthusiastic about learning and keen to participate in class and group discussions. They responded well to the many opportunities for collaborative learning, in pairs or in groups. At the early stages, the emphasis on active learning was having a very positive impact on pupils’ confidence and enjoyment of learning. Thereafter, pupils were given a suitable degree of responsibility for their own learning, particularly in relation to peer and self assessment. Staff now needed to extend pupils’ experience of individual investigative learning.

Improvements in performance

The school had been very successful both in maintaining high levels of attainment and improving performance in areas identified as priorities within the school improvement plan.

Children in the nursery class were making very good progress in communication and language. Children talked enthusiastically to one another and to adults. They used language well to talk about models they had made and to discuss the sequence of a story. Staff encouraged children’s interest in books and children enjoyed taking books home to share with parents. They were developing a good knowledge of letter names and sounds.

In the primary classes, overall attainment in English language was very good. Almost all pupils had attained appropriate national levels of attainment in reading and writing consistently over a number of years. These standards were being maintained in current classwork. A significant proportion of pupils were attaining national levels earlier than might normally be expected. Pupils at the early stages were making very good progress with initial literacy skills. At all stages, pupils with additional support needs were making steady progress from their earlier levels of attainment. Pupils were confident and articulate in discussion and could express their points of view on a wide range of topics. They were able to listen for information and instructions and were improving their listening skills to appreciate how writers achieved effects with words. Most pupils enjoyed books and were familiar with a wide range of authors. Almost all could read fluently and confidently, with good strategies for dealing with unfamiliar words. Pupils were capable of writing well for a range of relevant purposes. There was still scope to improve the quality of ideas in their imaginative writing. The school was taking effective action to identify and address weaknesses in some pupils’ spelling.

In the nursery class, children were making very good progress in early mathematics. They were developing an appropriate understanding of mathematical language. Most could count and were beginning to recognise numbers. They could recognise basic shapes and sort and match objects. Their skills in exploring mathematical concepts and problem solving in play situations were developing well.

In the primary classes, the overall quality of attainment in mathematics was very good. Almost all pupils had attained appropriate national levels of attainment consistently over a number of years. At several stages, a significant number of pupils were attaining these levels earlier than might normally be expected. The few pupils who required support with aspects of mathematics were making suitable progress in their classwork. Pupils at the early stages had made a very good start to the development of their mathematical skills. Across the school, pupils were developing skills in information handling and by P7 they could use data very effectively and interpret a broad range of graphs. At all stages, pupils carried out written calculations accurately. A daily mental calculation programme had increased their confidence in number skills. By P4, pupils had a good knowledge of shape and its properties. Across the school, pupils were developing skills in solving mathematical problems. They did not consistently use a range of strategies to solve more challenging problems in other areas of the curriculum.

Children in the nursery class were making very good progress in understanding the world around them. They were learning about the natural world through planting seeds and caring for their plants. Children were developing creativity through the use of paint, collage and model-making materials. They participated enthusiastically in energetic play and were developing their coordination and awareness of space through the ‘Basic Moves’ programme. In the primary classes, pupils were performing well in classwork across a range of curricular areas, including the expressive arts, environmental studies and religious and moral education.

Staff took very good steps to develop the wider achievements of children and pupils. Children in the nursery were familiar with basic nursery routines and were learning to share and take turns when playing. Most were developing friendships. They were developing independence when undertaking personal tasks. In the primary classes, pupils were making very good progress in developing their confidence and self-esteem. At P7, pupils took their responsibilities very seriously, acting as buddies to younger pupils and as school monitors. A high proportion took part in regular after-school clubs. They were developing their sporting and creative skills through a wide range of activities including football, netball and the Fairtrade cafe. Pupils were actively involved in planning for future improvements. The school provided good opportunities for pupils to make decisions within the pupil council and the health and eco-school committee. The school had achieved its second Eco-School Scotland Green Flag award and had gained Health Promoting School status. Pupils at all stages were involved in raising funds for a range of charities through organising successful enterprises. At all stages, there were opportunities for pupils to perform for the local community. Pupils at P7 also developed their personal and social skills through an annual residential experience with their peers from local cluster schools.

To maintain the consistently high levels of performance, the school had focused in its improvement plan on aspects of pupils’ performance in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, pupils were more confident in discussing books and in their capacity to apply their mathematics skills in different contexts. Staff in the nursery class were developing the use of ‘Learning Stories’ to involve children more fully in their learning. Overall, this represented very good improvements in performance across the nursery and primary classes.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

The nursery met children’s needs well. Staff knew the children well and made good use of observation to plan and record children’s development. More effective tracking of pupils’ progress was nevertheless required. The support for learning teacher worked well with the nursery staff to meet children’s needs. The school met pupils’ learning needs very well in the primary classes. Teachers took good account of prior learning in planning work for groups and individuals. They provided well-balanced support and challenge in most lessons, although higher attaining pupils would benefit from more challenging experiences in writing and aspects of mathematics. Teachers identified pupils in need of support promptly as part of the school’s early intervention programme. The arrangements for supporting pupils with additional needs were very effective and in line with current national legislation. Pupils received very good support in class from the support for learning teacher and from the classroom and support assistants. Links with other agencies such as speech and language therapy services were very good and were having a positive impact on meeting pupils’ needs. Pupils with individualised educational programmes (IEPs) had clear learning targets and were making good progress towards these.

6. How good is the environment for learning?

7. Leading and improving the school

Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.

Pencaitland Primary School and Nursery Class offered a high quality of education for its children and pupils. Nursery children and primary pupils were enthusiastic and well motivated. Standards of attainment in English language and mathematics were very good. The quality of teaching was consistently strong. The school was taking well-planned steps to improve the curriculum and address the range of pupils’ needs. Links with parents and the wider community were very positive.

The headteacher provided very good leadership. She had a clear vision for the future improvement of the school and was highly committed to the care and welfare of children and pupils. She had successfully introduced a number of important initiatives to develop aspects of the curriculum and to improve standards further. In taking these developments forward, she had actively involved staff to develop their leadership skills. She was well supported by the principal teacher who had been particularly successful in developing the curriculum at the early stages. Staff contributed to a number of working groups. Individual teachers successfully led developments, including a school blog, ICT across the curriculum and active learning. The headteacher had established very effective arrangements for identifying the school’s strengths and priorities for action. Quality assurance strategies involved staff, parents and pupils. Priorities were suitably targeted to improving pupils’ learning experiences and increasing their confidence and responsibility. Whole-school monitoring focused on the work of teachers and pupil progress. This included, for example, reviewing teaching plans, observing lessons and sampling pupils’ work. Planned classroom visits to monitor aspects of learning and teaching were well established. Staff received helpful feedback about the strengths of their work and any areas for improvement. As a result, all staff were fully committed to improving the quality of provision for pupils. There was a strong capacity for continuous improvement.

Nursery staff were aware of the implications of the Scottish Social Services Council’s Codes of Practice.

At the last Care Commission inspection of the nursery class there were no recommendations or requirements.

What happens next?

As a result of the high performance, the strong record of improvement and the very effective leadership of this school, HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this inspection. 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. Within two years of the publication of this report the education authority, working with the school, will provide a progress report to parents.

Lachlan MacCallum
HM Inspector

2 September 2008

Appendix 1 Indicators of quality

The sections in the table below follow the order in this report. You can find the main comments made about each of the quality indicators in those sections. However, aspects of some quality indicators are relevant to other sections of the report and may also be mentioned in those other sections.

This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by inspectors:

Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses

Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires are listed below.

Appendix 3 Good practice

In the course of the inspection, the following aspects of innovative and effective practice were evaluated as being worthy of wider dissemination.

How can you contact us?

If you would like an additional copy of this report

Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and school staff, the Acting Director of Education and Children’s 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, 1^st Floor, Endeavour House, 1 Greenmarket, Dundee DD1 4QB or by telephoning 01382 576700. Copies are also available on our website www.hmie.gov.uk.

HMIE Feedback and Complaints Procedure

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, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.

If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to our Complaints Manager, HMIE Business Management and Communications Team, Second Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.  You can also e-mail HMIEComplaints@hmie.gsi.gov.uk. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from this office, by telephoning 01506 600200 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 (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should write to the SPSO, Freepost EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330 fax 0800 377 7331 or e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.spso.org.uk.

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HM Inspectorate of Education

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