Broomlands Primary School and Nursery Class
Kelso
Scottish Borders Council

5 February 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
How can you contact us?

1. Background

Broomlands Primary School and Nursery Class were inspected in October 2007 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 and across the school, 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, a group of parents¹ and representatives of other agencies and the local community.

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 an area in the northern part of Kelso. At the time of the inspection the roll was 234, including 40 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.

2. Key strengths

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

HM Inspectors analysed responses to questionnaires issued to all parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about these responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2.

Overall, parents were pleased with all aspects of the nursery and school. They thought that staff made them feel welcome, treated their children fairly and that the school had a good reputation in the community. A few would like more information on their child’s progress. Most pupils enjoyed being at the school. They thought that teachers expected them to work hard, explained things clearly and were good at letting them know how to improve their work. Around a quarter of pupils felt that the behaviour of a number of pupils needed to improve. All staff felt that the school was well led. They thought that they showed care and concern for pupils’ welfare and celebrated pupils’ successes regularly.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

Staff in the nursery class interacted effectively with children. They used praise well to celebrate children’s achievements and encouraged them to recognise each other’s successes. Staff made effective use of questions and dialogue to support and extend children’s thinking. Arrangements to support the learning of children transferring into P1 were very good. Staff at the primary stages provided pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum which enabled them to develop a range of skills. Teachers allocated additional time to develop pupils’ learning in aspects of English language and mathematics. This was beginning to result in improved attainment. The school was making very good progress towards offering each pupil two hours of physical education weekly, in line with national recommendations. Pupils at P6 and P7 were making steady progress in French. The school had yet to develop approaches to enterprise in education. The school recognised the need to review several curricular areas, including religious and moral education and environmental studies, to ensure that pupils’ learning builds appropriately on their prior knowledge. Pupils had too few opportunities to develop literacy and numeracy skills across a range of curricular areas. The quality of teaching was good overall, with examples of effective direct teaching in many classes. Most teachers were well organised and planned their lessons carefully. Many were skilled in using questions effectively to support pupils’ learning and occasionally to encourage them to explore their thinking. They made appropriate use of praise and gave clear explanations and instructions. Whilst some lessons were lively and interesting, teachers overall did not use a wide enough range of teaching approaches. Teachers set a range of homework tasks but these lacked sufficient variety.

Children in the nursery class were making good progress in most curricular areas. They engaged enthusiastically in role play and painted freely. A wider range of creative experiences using art and craft materials was now needed. Children enjoyed experimenting with the different sounds they made using percussion instruments. They were able to operate simple programmes on the computer. Children took part in regular energetic activity outdoors and were developing good hand and finger control. In the nursery class, children chose from a wide range of activities which engaged their interest. School staff had made a promising start to continuing this active approach to learning into P1. Play activities at P1 were beginning to challenge pupils’ thinking and enable them to develop independence in their learning. Pupils were effectively continuing to develop their competence in information and communications technology (ICT). They were able to use these skills well to support their learning in other areas. Throughout the school, almost all pupils were well motivated and keen to learn. In lessons such as science and problem solving, they participated actively in discussions and remained well focused when working independently. However, this active approach to learning was not yet consistent across all curricular areas. The overall pace of learning across the school was not fast enough.

Children in the nursery class were motivated, confident and enthusiastic. They had good opportunities to work independently and in groups and most persevered well at activities they had chosen. Many children were developing friendships and were learning to cooperate with each other. The school was taking effective steps to develop pupils’ wider achievements more systematically. Older pupils willingly took on responsibilities as lunch time monitors and buddies to younger pupils. The school promoted pupils’ personal and social development well through lessons, assemblies and a range of clubs and activities including a residential outdoor experience. Senior pupils acted as monitors and playground buddies for younger pupils. Pupils from P1 to P7 had contributed to improvements in aspects of playground experiences and the school environment by making constructive suggestions at the pupil council. Involvement in the school’s musical and sporting clubs enabled those pupils who took part to enrich their learning and helped them develop confidence. Several pupils represented the school in Scottish Borders Youth Orchestra. Throughout the school, pupils showed a clear understanding of the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

English language

Children in the nursery class were making very good progress in developing their skills in communication and language. They were confident in talking to each other and to adults. They enjoyed listening to stories and were able to predict and recall events. Most could recognise their own name and a few were able to write it. The overall quality of attainment in English language from P1 to P7 was good. Pupils at P1 were beginning to build effectively on their learning in nursery. Attainment in reading had fluctuated in recent years but had steadily improved in writing. Across the school, most pupils were attaining appropriate national levels in listening, talking, reading and writing. A number achieved these levels earlier than might normally be expected. However, several pupils at most stages were capable of achieving even higher standards. Pupils experiencing difficulties in their learning were well supported by class teachers and were making good progress. In most classes, pupils listened attentively to their teachers’ instructions and responded well. They gave articulate accounts of presentations they had delivered to classmates but were less skilled in group discussions. At P7, pupils eagerly discussed a range of fiction they had read for pleasure. Their skills in reading for information were not sufficiently well developed. Most pupils, particularly at P1 to P4, wrote well for a range of purposes and audiences.

A few senior pupils would benefit from further opportunities to write at length. Standards in spelling, punctuation and presentation of written work across the school were high.

Mathematics

Children in the nursery class were making good progress in mathematics. They used a wide range of mathematical language confidently and many could sort and match by colour and shape. Many children could count and recognise numbers. They had too few opportunities to solve problems in the course of their play. The quality of pupils’ attainment in mathematics in P1 to P7 was good. It had fluctuated in recent years but now showed signs of sustained improvement. Pupils at P1 were building effectively on their prior learning in mathematics in the nursery. Across the school, most pupils were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment. A few at most stages were achieving these levels earlier than might normally be expected. However, at most stages, a few pupils were capable of achieving even higher levels. By P7, pupils used ICT effectively to display information. They could read a range of graphs and charts but had a limited understanding of databases. Most pupils were confident and accurate in written and oral calculations, but were less secure when working with decimals and fractions. At P7, pupils could weigh and measure confidently using practical apparatus. They were skilled in estimating weight. At P4, pupils could describe the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes. At all stages, pupils were developing their skills in problem-solving and enquiry and could discuss a limited range of appropriate strategies with confidence.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

In the nursery class, staff knew the children well. Staff observed children at play but did not always use information from observations in a sufficiently focused way to plan effectively for next stages in learning. The school’s approaches to meeting pupils’ learning needs were adequate overall. Procedures for supporting and monitoring the progress of pupils with additional support needs, including higher-achieving pupils and nursery children, were effective in ensuring that these pupils made appropriate progress. Class teachers worked flexibly and skilfully to ensure that pupils with additional support needs were included and assisted appropriately in class activities. Across the school, support staff made a very good contribution to improving aspects of pupils’ behaviour and learning. The support for learning teacher worked well with identified groups of pupils. The school’s strong partnership with a range of external agencies ensured a high level of support for a few pupils experiencing particular challenges. However, across the school, the practice of teaching classes as a whole did not allow teachers to offer an appropriate level of challenge to all pupils. Tasks and activities in too many classes were not well enough matched to the learning needs of all pupils. As a result, at most stages, a number of pupils were not making sufficient progress in their learning.

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.

Broomlands Primary School provided its pupils and nursery children with a caring and supportive environment. Teachers were hard working and committed to the wellbeing and personal development of all pupils. Attainment was good overall and improving. Relationships and teamwork were positive. However, pupils’ attainment in key areas was not high enough. The pace of learning across the school in English language and mathematics was too slow. As a result, too many pupils were not making sufficient progress in their learning.

The headteacher was highly committed to the school and nursery and provided very good leadership. Her very effective interpersonal skills and professional expertise had gained the respect of staff, parents and pupils. In just under two years in post, she had significantly improved many aspects of the school. She had introduced helpful systems to support teachers in their work and significantly developed staff teamwork. Teaching staff were now beginning to take a more active role in developing aspects of the curriculum. Strong partnerships with parents, other local schools, support agencies and members of the local community had been developed. As a result of these recent initiatives, pupils’ learning was improving. The depute headteacher had led developments in teaching about diversity issues. However, she did not yet play a full enough role in leading the development of learning in the school. The principal teacher carried out a demanding remit effectively. He had made significant contributions to improving the school’s curriculum and to supporting staff teamwork and morale. The headteacher had introduced rigorous procedures to monitor and evaluate the work of the school. She visited classes, scrutinised teachers’ plans and sampled pupils’ work. These approaches had begun to show success in improving several areas of the school’s work. However, a number of teachers had still to become fully involved in evaluating the effectiveness of pupils’ learning. Evaluation of the quality of children’s experiences in the nursery and teachers’ tracking of pupils’ progress required further refinement. Nursery staff were aware of the implications of the Scottish Social Services Council’s Codes of Practice.

At the last Care Commission singleton inspection of the nursery class there were three requirements and one recommendation. These had all been fully addressed. With continued strong leadership, the school had a clear capacity to continue to improve the quality of its work.

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. Within two years of the publication of this report parents will be informed about the progress made by the school.

Anne McGachey
HM Inspector
5 February 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.

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 Director of Education and Lifelong Learning, 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 600351. 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 Chris McIlroy, HMCI, at the above address.

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.

Crown Copyright 2008

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.

Footnotes

1 Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers, residential care staff and carers who are relatives or friends.