Holy Cross Primary School
Croy
North Lanarkshire Council

23 October 2007

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

Holy Cross Primary was inspected in May 2007 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, 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 pupils’ work and interviewed groups of pupils, including the pupil council, and staff. Members of the inspection team also met the chairperson of the School Board, representatives of the parent-teacher association (PTA) and a group of parents¹.

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

Holy Cross Primary School is a denominational school serving the village of Croy and the surrounding area. At the time of the inspection the roll was 261. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was in line with 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 a sample of parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2.

All parents felt that the school encouraged their children to work to the best of their ability and that their children found their tasks stimulating and challenging. They also felt that teachers set high standards for pupils’ attainment and that the school was well led. All pupils felt that teachers explained things clearly and expected them to work hard. Almost all stated that they enjoyed school and got on well with other pupils. All staff were very positive about all aspects of the school. All indicated that they enjoyed working in the school and that the school was well led. Around a quarter of support staff wanted to be more involved in the decision-making process.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

The overall quality of the curriculum was very good. The school provided pupils with a well balanced and broad range of experiences. Teachers had made clear progress in reviewing areas of the curriculum, helping pupils to achieve more. Staff were using additional time very well to enhance pupils’ learning in English language and mathematics. Italian was taught well at P6 and P7. The school was developing a structured programme for play at the early stages. Personal, social and health education, citizenship and enterprise education had been effectively integrated into the curriculum at all stages. Pupils received two hours of good quality physical education (PE) each week, enhanced by the contribution of a visiting specialist teacher. Timetabled access to information and communications technology (ICT) facilities ensured that all pupils had the opportunity to develop their skills appropriately. Teachers used a variety of effective teaching approaches to provide stimulating and informative lessons. They consistently shared learning intentions with pupils and actively involved them in reviewing their learning and setting new targets. They used questioning very skilfully to check what pupils knew, and to consolidate new skills and ideas. In most lessons, pupils had opportunities to respond with extended answers and were given sufficient time to develop their thinking. Teachers used praise very well to encourage pupils to participate and to recognise success. Regular homework reinforced the work of the class appropriately. All staff made good use of ICT to teach different aspects of the curriculum, for example mathematics and environmental studies.

All pupils were well behaved, listened attentively and responded positively to their tasks. The learning environment was consistently calm and purposeful, with teachers and pupils working well together. Pupils worked well in groups and as individuals. Pupils had frequent opportunities to lead aspects of lessons and to explain how they arrived at their answers. At all stages, the pace of learning was brisk but pupils were given sufficient time to think for themselves and to reflect on ideas and experiences. In almost all lessons, pupils had suitable opportunites to work independently and to take responsibility for their own progress.

The school took very effective steps to develop pupils’ wider achievements. At all stages, pupils’ very good understanding of healthy lifestyles was developed through a number of initiatives such as ‘walk to school week’. Almost all pupils were involved in a variety of out-of-school activities such as the chess club, athletics and musical activities. Participation in these activities helped pupils to become more confident in working with others and developed their self-esteem. Pupils in P7 successfully supported younger pupils in their reading. Pupils at P5 and P6 were given roles of responsibility, such as litter monitors and members of the ‘playground squad’ who had duties to organise play activities with younger pupils. Pupils were actively involved in the decision-making process through the pupil council. Across the school, pupils developed their skills in citizenship further through Eco School activities, raising money for charities, and being involved in a variety of community events such as World Book Day. These activities helped pupils to develop organisational and leadership skills. Staff had helped raise pupils’ awareness of the global importance of sustainable development. For example, the Eco committee pupils were responsible for the recycling of paper and mobile phones. All pupils were developing a wide range of enterprising skills. For example, P4 to P7 pupils reached the final stages in a local competition, ‘Tomorrow’s Inventors’.

English language

The overall quality of attainment in English language was good, and was very good in reading. Levels had fluctuated over the past three years. Almost all pupils achieved appropriate national levels in listening and reading and most were achieving such levels in talking and writing. At all stages, a significant number of pupils had reached national levels of attainment in reading earlier than might be expected. Pupils at the early stages were successfully developing their literacy skills. Throughout the school, pupils listened attentively to staff and each other. They expressed their views and opinions clearly and successfully engaged in discussion in pairs. Pupils were not consistently confident in group discussions. Almost all pupils read with a good level of fluency and understanding. Most read regularly for pleasure. Pupils at all stages had developed good knowledge about language. At P6 and P7, they showed good understanding of how writers created effects. Pupils wrote well for a range of purposes and audiences, but did not write enough long pieces. Most pupils had a clear understanding of what they needed to do to improve aspects of their writing.

Mathematics

The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in mathematics was very good. Over the last three years, attainment had improved steadily. All pupils at P3, P4 and P6 were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment. All pupils at P2 and almost all at P5 were achieving these levels earlier than might normally be expected. Overall, all pupils were making good progress in their coursework. At all stages, most pupils were confident in handling and displaying data. Pupils at P5 knew how to conduct a survey, record outcomes and display findings accurately. Across the school, pupils performed mental and written calculations well. They had a good understanding of measurement. Pupils at P2 were confident in using money and answering related questions. At all stages, most pupils showed a good understanding and knowledge of shape. At P7, pupils answered questions related to angles well. Pupils were able to solve problems effectively and explain the strategies they had used. They used ICT skilfully to enhance their learning and to help raise their attainment in mathematics.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

Class teachers provided activities and resources which met the needs of their pupils. Classroom assistants and auxiliaries gave good quality and well-judged assistance. They worked well with class teachers to contribute to very good learning experiences. However, a few pupils at the later stages would benefit from greater challenge. Senior managers, teachers, support assistants, visiting support services and parent helpers contributed very effective support for pupils with additional support needs. The school had developed effective individualised educational programmes (IEPs) with appropriate short-term targets in English language, mathematics and personal and social development. Some long-term targets needed to be more specific. The school had effective arrangements in place to support pupils transferring into P1 and from P7 to secondary school.

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.

Holy Cross Primary School provided pupils with a high standard of education. The overall quality of learning and teaching was very good as was pupils’ attainment in mathematics and reading. The encouraging and achieving ethos in the school enabled pupils to be enthusiastic and confident in their learning. All staff were strongly committed to ensuring pupils’ needs were very well met and worked very effectively as a team.

The very experienced headteacher provided excellent leadership. He was very highly respected by pupils, parents, staff and the wider community. He had managed change very effectively and had created a strong culture of teamwork, improvement and trust in the school where staff set high standards for themselves. He involved all staff in decisions related to the life of the school and very successfully encouraged them to take on leadership roles in curricular and extra-curricular activities. His very personable leadership style inspired staff and pupils to do their best. The headteacher was very well supported by the depute headteacher and principal teachers who carried out their remits effectively. As a senior management team, they were very strongly committed to the school and consistently supported staff in their learning and teaching. All staff worked hard to sustain high standards and to advance developments. The school’s approaches to ensuring continuous improvement were very good. The headteacher had embedded a clear routine of monitoring and evaluation. The headteacher and depute headteacher observed learning and teaching and provided staff with very helpful feedback. The headteacher had carried out a number of surveys with pupils and parents, summarising their responses and incorporated them into the school improvement plan. He had involved teachers in the tracking of pupils’ attainment and together they identified the relevant steps to ensure pupils’ progressed appropriately. Pupils were evaluating lessons and their own learning in a number of curricular areas. They stated that these approaches helped them to improve their performance. Parents were well informed about the school’s improvement priorities. Holy Cross Primary School showed a clear capacity for continuous improvement in all aspects of its work.

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.

Hakim Din
HM Inspector

23 October 2007

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 Executive Director Learning and Leisure 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 Unit, 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 2007

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.