10 June 2008
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?
Carron Primary School and Nursery Class were inspected in February 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 parents1.
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 Carron and the surrounding area. At the time of the inspection the roll was 403, including 52 children 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.
HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths.
|
Parents were positive about most aspects of the school and nursery class. Parents of nursery children felt welcome and thought any concerns raised would be dealt with appropriately. They thought their children were treated fairly by staff. Parents of primary pupils felt staff showed concern for their child’s welfare. They felt the school had a good reputation within the community and that staff dealt appropriately with any instances of misbehaviour. Pupils enjoyed school and thought teachers knew them well. They felt teachers listened to them and told them when they had done something well. Pupils believed the behaviour in the school was good and staff were good at dealing with any bullying behaviour. All staff enjoyed working in the school and thought there was effective communication. They felt they had good opportunities to be involved in decision making. Parents and staff believed the school was well led.
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The overall quality of the curriculum was very good. In the nursery class, children benefited from an attractive learning environment that encouraged choice and independence. Children responded well to the experiences offered and actively engaged in all aspects of the curriculum. Across the primary stages, staff provided a broad range of learning experiences for pupils. Well-planned visits and contributions from visitors enriched pupils’ learning. The school developed pupils’ personal, social and health education well through a range of appropriate activities. At the early stages, staff had taken positive steps to increase opportunities for pupils to experience active learning through purposeful play. Additional time allocated to develop pupils’ writing had resulted in improved attainment in this area. Across the school, pupils took part in a wide range of enterprise in education projects. For example, pupils at P3 had produced a book of healthy recipes. Pupils had regular opportunities to develop effective skills in the use of information and communications technology (ICT). They did not yet benefit from two hours of physical education each week, in line with national recommendations. The overall quality of teaching was good and in some instances it was very good. In the nursery class, staff interactions with children were good. They used praise well to develop children’s confidence and talked helpfully with children to support and motivate their learning. However, children did not have sufficient opportunities to develop independent learning skills. Across the primary stages, teachers were well organised and planned their lessons carefully. They shared the purposes of lessons with pupils and gave clear instructions and explanations. In examples of effective practice, teachers provided stimulating contexts for learning and used questioning effectively to extend pupils in their learning. On occasions, pupils completed activities that were not always sufficiently challenging. They were not always given enough opportunities to take responsibility for their learning. Teachers provided varied homework activities to support pupils’ learning.
In the nursery class, children were making good progress in knowledge and understanding of the world, expressive and aesthetic development and physical development and movement. They were developing ICT skills and were imaginative in their role play and individual craft work. Children were enthusiastic about outdoor physical play. Across the primary stages, the quality of learners’ experiences was very good. Pupils were motivated and enthusiastic about their learning. They concentrated well and completed tasks without close supervision. Pupils worked well together in pairs and groups. For example, pupils at P2 had specific responsibilities and used these effectively when working in groups during religious and moral education activities. At the upper stages, pupils were confident when holding short conversations in French. Pupils across the school were developing their creativity in art and design. They had a good knowledge of artists’ styles and produced high quality work using a variety of techniques.
The school took effective steps to help pupils develop their wider achievements. In the nursery class, children were confident and beginning to form friendships with one another. In the primary classes, pupils were developing effective enterprise skills and as a result the school had received a gold award. Pupils enjoyed opportunities to exercise responsibilities. This included older pupils acting as buddies for younger pupils. Across the school, pupils were developing a good awareness of sustainable education. For example, pupils collected fruit skins and used these to make their own compost. The school had received a second green flag from Eco-Schools Scotland. Pupils responded positively to opportunities to be involved in decision making through involvement in the pupil council, Eco committee and health committee. For example, at P7, pupils had recently surveyed other pupils about options available at the tuck shop and what improvements could be made. Across the school, pupils took part in a range of community events and competitions. A significant number were developing their skills in a variety of outwith school hours activities, including football, art and choir. Pupils were gaining confidence in performing to a range of different audiences, including other pupils and the local community. Those at P7 developed their self-confidence and self-esteem through participating in a residential experience.
English language
In the nursery class, children were making adequate progress in communication and language. Most children were confident when talking to one another and adults. They enjoyed listening to stories and reciting rhymes. Almost all children could recognise their own name. Staff did not provide enough opportunities or encouragement for children to develop an interest in mark making, writing and books during play. Across the primary stages, the overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was good. In recent years attainment in reading had remained steady. Attainment in writing had improved. Most pupils were attaining appropriate national levels of attainment in reading, writing, listening and talking. A significant number had attained these levels earlier than might normally be expected. These gains were not always maintained as pupils progressed through the school. Pupils were making very good progress in developing their skills in talking. Pupils were articulate and confident when discussing their feelings, thoughts and opinions. At P6 and P7, pupils had developed appropriate skills in listening and responding to each other in discussions. However, at the early stages, pupils’ listening skills were less well developed. Most pupils talked in detail about types of books they had read. At the early stages, pupils demonstrated a good understanding of stories they had read. The introduction of an accelerated reading programme had increased pupils’ enthusiasm for reading in the middle and upper stages. Throughout the school pupils had regular opportunities for writing for a range of purposes. Overall, pupils did not always have sufficient opportunities to write at length across other areas of the curriculum. Standards of handwriting and presentation were good.
Mathematics
In the nursery class, children were making good progress in developing their early mathematical skills. They enjoyed solving problems in play and a few talked about patterns and shapes. They participated enthusiastically in number songs and rhymes. However, children did not have sufficient opportunities to develop their counting skills in well-planned play. Across the primary stages, the overall quality of attainment in mathematics was good. Levels of attainment had remained steady over recent years. Across the school, most pupils were attaining appropriate national levels of attainment. A significant number of pupils were attaining these levels earlier than might normally be expected. Pupils who required support with aspects of mathematics were making appropriate progress. Most pupils could collect, present and interpret data appropriately using a variety of graphs and charts. Across the school, pupils used computers to display information and reinforce aspects of their mathematics. For example, pupils at P6 created a database with information about people they knew. At the early stages, pupils were making a good start to developing numeracy skills. Most pupils were developing effective skills in written calculations in number, money and measurement. However, they lacked agility in mental calculations. By P7, pupils had a secure grasp of calculations involving decimals and percentages. At all stages, pupils had a good knowledge of two- and three-dimensional shapes and could discuss their properties. By P7, they demonstrated a clear understanding of coordinates and bearings. Overall, pupils’ skills in problem solving were not sufficiently well developed.
In the nursery class, children’s needs were adequately met. Staff had a sound practical knowledge of how children developed and were responsive to individual children’s needs. They were developing profiles of children’s learning but did not yet effectively use them to track children’s progress or involve them in their learning. Across the primary stages, the arrangements for meetings pupils’ learning needs were good. Staff provided pupils with a variety of appropriate tasks and activities. However, these did not always provide sufficient challenge to meet the needs of some higher-achieving pupils. The school had appropriate systems in place to identify pupils who required additional support with their learning. Staff had developed individualised educational programmes with clear learning targets. Staff reviewed pupils’ progress regularly and involved parents in the process. The support for learning teacher worked effectively with pupils experiencing difficulties with aspects of their learning. The school had developed good links with a range of agencies and professionals, including psychological services and family support workers. At all stages, support assistants made positive contributions to supporting pupils’ learning.
Aspect |
Comment |
Care, welfare and development |
Arrangements for ensuring the care and welfare of nursery children and primary pupils were very good. Staff knew the pupils well and were sensitive to their social and emotional needs. Staff had received appropriate training in child protection and were fully aware of procedures. Pupils enjoyed being at school and felt safe and well looked after. The school actively promoted healthy lifestyles through, for example, organising a health roadshow for pupils and parents. Pupils enjoyed a positive social experience with their peers in the dining hall. School lunches were of a good quality, well presented and popular with pupils. The school had well-planned arrangements in place for pupils entering P1 and for P7 pupils transferring to Larbert High School. |
Management and use of resources and space for learning |
The overall management and use of resources and space for learning was very good. The staff had created a stimulating environment for learning. Displays of pupils’ work were varied and of a high quality. The school had effectively reorganised space within the building to create additional areas for teaching and learning, including a new library. Resources were well organised and reviewed regularly. Pupils made very good use of a large playground which they had designed. Arrangements for security were appropriate and the ground floor was accessible for those with restricted mobility. The multi-purpose hall was used well, however, it was too small to hold whole-school assemblies or events. There were no changing facilities for pupils. The education authority had recently extended the building to create a purpose-built nursery class and were currently upgrading the girls’ toilets. |
Climate and relationships, expectations and promoting achievement and equality and fairness |
Pupils and staff identified strongly with the school and were proud to be associated with it. Staff were consulted regularly about school improvements and felt supported and valued. They worked effectively as a team and contributed well to the work of the school. Nursery staff had developed positive and supportive relationships with children. Across the school, staff had high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement. Pupils were polite and well behaved and spoke confidently to visitors. Pupils responded well to improving their citizenship skills by taking responsibility for specific duties around the school through activities such as playground friends and energy conservation. Weekly assemblies provided suitable opportunities for religious observance and to celebrate pupils’ successes. Notice boards around the school displayed a variety of pupils’ achievements. There was a strong sense of equality and fairness in the school. Equality and diversity was promoted well through the curriculum. Pupils gained an awareness of other cultures and religions through work in religious and moral education, environmental studies and a whole-school international week. |
The school’s success in involving parents, carers and families |
The Parent Council and PTA provided valuable support to the school, including raising additional funds for school events. Parents were informed about pupils’ progress through informative written reports and by attending parent meetings. The headteacher communicated effectively with parents. Parents knew how to raise any concerns and were confident these would be dealt with appropriately. The school issued regular and informative newsletters that included details of pupils’ achievements. The school consulted parents on a variety of aspects of the work of the school, including homework and health education. Parents attended school events and assisted in classroom activities. The school successfully promoted parental involvement in improving the work of the school. This included contributing to the school improvement plan. Parents effectively led the toothbrushing programme in the nursery. The school had productive links with local businesses and the community. The school chaplain regularly visited the school and assisted with assemblies. |
Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.
Carron Primary School and Nursery Class had successfully established a positive, caring environment for pupils. In the nursery and primary classes staff promoted and celebrated pupils’ achievements well. Nursery staff worked well as a team to set up the new nursery class and had developed a broad curriculum. Staff at the primary stages provided pupils with a wide range of experiences. Pupils had positive attitudes to learning and were polite and well behaved. The quality of teaching was good and in some instances very good. There was scope for improving attainment in English language and mathematics by ensuring all pupils were sufficiently challenged.
The headteacher provided very good leadership. She was highly committed to the school and had earned the respect of pupils, parents and staff. In the past year, she had taken responsibility for a new nursery class within the school. She had identified appropriate areas for improving the work of the nursery class. The headteacher had a clear vision for the school and had led improvements in attainment and approaches to teaching and learning. She had focussed strongly on providing pupils with a wide range of opportunities to achieve. The headteacher had developed a positive climate for learning. She had established effective teamwork amongst staff and encouraged all staff to take responsibility for leading projects and developing improvement priorities. The headteacher was supported well by the acting depute headteacher and two acting principal teachers. They had clear remits which they carried out effectively. The acting depute headteacher had successfully led improvements in environmental studies and health education. The two acting principal teachers had made positive contributions to school improvements through their work on accelerated reading and the Eco-Schools Scotland initiative. The school’s approaches to self-evaluation were good. The headteacher consulted with staff, pupils and parents on aspects of the work of the school, including the school improvement plan. The management team monitored teachers’ plans, pupils’ work and carried out classroom observations. They provided staff with helpful feedback on teaching and learning. The headteacher regularly discussed pupils’ progress with staff. She recognised the need to further improve tracking of pupils’ attainment in order to ensure pupils made appropriate progress. Staff were fully committed to improving the work of the school. They were involved in newly introduced learning trios to share good practice within the school. However, this had not yet had time to improve the consistency of teaching across the school. The school was well placed to ensure further improvements in learning and teaching.
Nursery staff were aware of the implications of the Scottish Social Services Council’s Codes of Practice. The nursery class was new and had not had previous inspections. Therefore, there were no requirements or recommendations requiring attention.
Main points for action The school and education authority should take action to:
|
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.
Janie McManus
HM Inspector
10 June 2008
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.
How good are learning, teaching and achievement? |
|
The curriculum |
very good |
Teaching for effective learning |
good |
Learners’ experiences |
very good |
Improvement in performance: English language |
good |
Improvement in performance: mathematics |
good |
How well are pupils’ learning needs met? |
|
Meeting learning needs |
good |
How good is the environment for learning? |
|
Care, welfare and development |
very good |
Management and use of resources and space for learning |
very good |
The engagement of staff in the life and work of the school |
very good |
Expectations and promoting achievement |
very good |
Equality and fairness |
very good |
The school’s success in involving parents, carers and families |
very good |
Leading and improving the school |
|
Developing people and partnerships |
very good |
Leadership of improvement and change (of the headteacher) |
very good |
Leadership of improvement and change (across the school) |
very good |
Improvement through self-evaluation |
good |
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by inspectors:
| excellent | outstanding, sector leading |
| very good | major strengths |
| good | important strengths, some areas for improvement |
| adequate | strengths just outweigh weaknesses |
| weak | important weaknesses |
| unsatisfactory | major weaknesses |
Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires are listed below.
What parents thought the school did well |
What parents think the school could do better |
|
|
What pupils thought the school did well |
What pupils think the school could do better |
|
|
What staff thought the school did well |
What staff think the school could do better |
|
|
In the course of the inspection, the following aspects of innovative and effective practice were evaluated as being worthy of wider dissemination.
Community Project in the Nursery A toothbrushing project involving nursery staff, dental health staff, children and parents had been developed in the nursery. The nursery staff worked with the dental health team in planning an effective programme in dental health. The aim was to encourage and facilitate the involvement of parents and carers. The dental nurses worked with staff and children to raise awareness of promoting good dental health. Information sessions were delivered to parents by the dental health team and the parents were trained in the toothbrushing initiative. Parents supported the daily toothbrushing sessions in the nursery. The parents ensured every child had sufficient support. Parents also ensured that all children were involved, and encouraged Accelerated Reading Staff were committed to raising attainment and achievement in reading. The school was aware that groups of pupils, particularly boys, were not interested in reading. As a result, the school had launched an accelerated reading programme. This was an on-line individualised reading programme aimed at motivating and encouraging pupils to read. The programme was led by a member of the teaching staff who researched and developed the programme initially. Pupils from P5 to P7 had taken part in the programme and had read books and then completed a quiz about the book |
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, 1st 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 Chris McIlroy, 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.
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.
1. Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers, residential care staff and carers who are relatives or friends.