St Andrew’s Primary School and Nursery Class Cumbernauld
North Lanarkshire Council

22 January 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

St Andrew's 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 pupils' work, and interviewed groups of pupils including the pupil council and staff. Members of the inspection team also met representatives of the School Support Group, 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 Westerwood, Carrickstone and Craigmarloch areas of Cumbernauld. The school was established in 2003 and shares a campus and many of its facilities with Cumbernauld Primary School. At the time of the inspection the roll was 352, including 100 children in the nursery class. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals was below the national average. Pupils' attendance was in line with the national average.

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.

Parents were pleased with almost all aspects of the primary school and nursery class and felt welcomed and involved in the life of the school. They felt that their children were well motivated and enjoyed coming to school. All parents commented that there was mutual respect between staff and pupils and that all staff showed a high level of care and concern for pupils and children in the nursery. A number of parents expressed concern that due to the expansion of numbers attending the school, three classes were accommodated in mobile classrooms. Pupils felt happy and safe in school. They thought that teachers explained work clearly and expected them to work hard. Teaching and support staff were very positive about working in the school. A few felt they did not have enough opportunity to be involved in decision making. A small number of parents felt that the nursery could explain the work of the nursery better, but were confident that staff dealt with any concerns they raised promptly and effectively.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

The overall quality of the curriculum was good. The nursery provided a broad and balanced curriculum across the five key aspects of learning. Staff provided children with an appropriate range of activities, resources and displays to explore and investigate. They made effective use of the outdoor area to develop children’s learning. Staff were responsive to children’s interests and took these into account when planning. However, children would benefit from greater involvement in the planning process. Overall, children responded positively to the learning environment. In the primary classes, the quality of teaching was very good overall. Staff had made a very good start to developing cross-curricular work to enhance pupils’ knowledge and skills, including in enterprise. Staff had made good progress in developing programmes to support pupils’ learning over the period since the school was established four years ago, and had begun to review these on a systematic basis. At the early primary stages, staff were beginning to introduce active learning and purposeful play activities. They did not consistently ensure these activities built on pupils’ prior learning. The school had made good provision in ensuring pupils experienced two hours of physical education each week, enhanced by very good use of the all weather pitches. Teachers made good use of information and communications technology (ICT) facilities in the newly established suite, to teach computing skills and applications. They made too little use of ICT to support learning in other curricular areas. Staff ensured that pupils’ spiritual, personal and moral development were included into a wide range of interesting and motivating activities. Staff interaction with pupils was generally of a very high standard. Most teachers used skilful use of questions to confirm pupils’ understanding. Teachers gave clear explanations and organised lessons well. Homework was effective and was well planned to support pupils’ learning in class.

The overall quality of learning was good. Children in the nursery were suitably challenged by a wide range of learning experiences. Staff were supportive and caring in their interactions with children. They made effective use of questions and dialogue to engage with children and extend their learning. Children engaged in role-play in the house corner. They were learning to use a wide range of art and craft materials, and took pleasure in using these creatively. Children were developing their ICT skills by carrying out tasks on the computer. They showed interest in the natural world when taking part in a caterpillar hunt and feeding ducks at the local pond. Children were developing an appropriate awareness of space. Many could operate wheeled toys with confidence. In the primary classes, pupils were encouraged to work in pairs and small groups. They were beginning to evaluate each others’ work, and made suggestions for improvements with sensitivity. At P1, pupils worked well together on literacy tasks which involved effective, active approaches. Pupils in P6 successfully produced pieces of imaginative writing, and collaborated well together in writing tasks. Pupils at P6/P7 spoke enthusiastically about their environmental studies topics and enjoyed a wide range of activities, visits and outings which enhanced their learning. In a few lessons, particularly in writing, pupils’ learning targets helped them to make good progress. Staff had not yet extended this effective approach to other areas of the curriculum.

The school took very good steps to develop pupils’ wider achievements. Nursery children were achieving success in their emotional, personal and social development. They cooperated well with one another, sharing willingly and taking turns. They were happy and settled with nursery routines and rules. In the primary classes, pupils were caring and very supportive of each other. Pupils at P6/P7 looked after younger pupils and acted as buddies in the playground. Pupils were developing a very good understanding of environmental issues and a sense of responsibility, working with staff and parents to gain their third flag as an Eco School. Pupils expressed pride in their role in developing the Eco garden. Pupils’ sense of active citizenship was evident as they raised considerable funds for local and national charities. Pupils had been successful in the local Junior Road Safety Award. They were enthusiastic about their performances in the joint choir with Cumbernauld Primary School.

English language

Children in the nursery class were making good progress in communication and language. Most children were confident when talking to one another and other adults. Some children were experimenting with mark making, and a few were beginning to form letters and words and to recognise their names. Some children enjoyed listening to stories and sharing books with one another. The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was very good. Almost all had achieved appropriate national levels of attainment in reading and writing. Pupils’ performance had improved steadily over the four years since the school opened. The headteacher had led staff in taking effective steps to address a slight fall in pupils’ performance in writing, introducing individual writing targets for them. Pupils listened well to each other at all stages. They spoke with confidence and maturity on a range of topics and about their work. Pupils enjoyed reading, and read aloud with fluency and understanding. The home lending library, run by parents, was used effectively to encourage pupils to read a variety of books. Pupils at P4/5 and P6 were developing skills in exploring the meaning and understanding of the author’s style of writing to widen and develop their own writing skills. At all stages, pupils wrote regularly for a variety of purposes. Their skills in imaginative writing were particularly well developed. The standard of presentation of pupils’ work was high.

Mathematics

In the nursery, children were making good progress in early mathematics. Most children were able to sort and match objects by shape, size and colour. Some children were using appropriate mathematical language in play situations. Many were developing an awareness of measure through the topic ‘all about me’. Some children could count with confidence. The overall quality of attainment in mathematics was very good. At all stages, standards were very high. Almost all pupils were achieving national levels of attainment and many were achieving these levels earlier than would be expected. Pupils were developing skills in information handling, and could interpret a range of graphs. However, opportunities were limited to use computer software to collect and display information. Pupils’ skills in mental calculation were very well developed throughout the school. They had a very good understanding of number and money measurement and used their knowledge well in a range of real-life contexts such as enterprise and fund-raising. Pupils at all stages showed an appropriate understanding of the concept of time. Almost all had a good knowledge of the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes and angles. At all stages, pupils were developing skills in solving mathematical problems. Pupils took pride in presenting their mathematics work well.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

The school’s arrangements for meeting the needs of nursery children and pupils in the school were good. In the nursery class, staff made observations of children at play and used this information to track children’s development and progress. Staff planned carefully for children who needed support in their learning, drawing on a range of support agencies. They had yet to fully involve parents in this process. In the primary classes, the small class sizes allowed staff to provide a high level of support for pupils’ wide range of needs and abilities. Class teachers worked successfully and cooperatively with support staff to ensure pupils’ learning needs were met. In most classes, staff took effective steps, including forming groups, and working with pairs and individuals to meet the different needs in their classes. The school had well-established links with other support services and agencies, and greatly benefited from the additional resources and facilities on the shared campus. A bilingual support teacher visited weekly to provide good support to pupils whose first language was not English. The school used effective support approaches, to meet pupils’ additional support needs. Staff had developed individualised educational programmes (IEPs) for a small number of children. These identified clear and appropriate targets but were not sufficiently detailed to ensure that specific needs were always met effectively. Parents did not yet have the opportunity to become involved in setting these targets. Staff and parents are required to review learning targets on a regular basis. Throughout the school there was scope for ensuring that the needs of abler children were consistently met, for example through extension activities and specific resources.

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.

St Andrew’s Primary School provides a very positive education for nursery children and pupils. Staff had successfully established a very positive and inclusive learning environment. The school provided very good pastoral care and staff were responsive and alert to pupils’ needs. Attainment was high in English language and mathematics. Climate and relationships were excellent and there were particular strengths in the joint initiatives on the shared campus.

The experienced headteacher provided very good leadership. She had established the new school effectively over the last four years. She shared a strong vision for its future development with pupils, parents and staff. She was enthusiastic and highly committed to the school and its community. She had given a high priority to establishing teamwork as the school roll expanded. A depute headteacher had been appointed very recently and was already providing effective support to the headteacher and staff. Her remit was focused on providing appropriate guidance to staff on key aspects of school work. An able acting principal teacher, whose teaching was a model of good practice, supported staff to enhance teaching and learning. There was now a need to revise remits for promoted staff to ensure a fairer distribution of management tasks and responsibilities. Staff involved in working parties needed clearer guidance and more focused direction from the senior management team to undertake their tasks more effectively. The school’s arrangements for self-evaluation and monitoring of improvement were very good. Staff had been involved in identifying priorities for improvement. They had taken effective action which had resulted in improvements in, for example, reading and mathematics. They were reflective and regularly evaluated their own work and provided support and challenge to colleagues. The management team used various approaches to monitor and evaluate all aspects of the work of the school. They provided focused feedback from classroom observations to improve learning and teaching and the quality of pupils’ experiences.

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

At the last HMIE Integrated inspection of the nursery class in March 2007 there were three recommendations. All were currently being addressed appropriately.

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.

Elizabeth Paterson
HM Inspector
22 January 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:

excellent outstanding, sector leading
very good major strengths
good important strengths with some areas for improvement
adequate strengths just outweigh weaknesses
weak important weaknesses
unsatisfactory major weaknesses

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 Executive Director Leisure and Learning 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, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG or by telephoning 0141 242 0100. 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

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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.