St Brigid’s Primary School
Wishaw
North Lanarkshire Council

4 September 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

St Brigid’s Primary School was inspected in April 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 and representatives of the parent-teacher association (PTA) and a group of parents¹.

St Brigid’s Primary School is a denominational school serving the community of Newmains near Wishaw. At the time of the inspection the roll was 177. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was above 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.

Almost all parents were satisfied with almost all aspects of the school’s work. They thought that their children enjoyed being at school and that staff showed concern for pupils’ care and welfare. Almost all thought that the school was well led and that it had a good reputation in the local community. Around one-fifth were not clear about the school’s priorities for improvement. Pupils were pleased with almost all aspects of school life. Almost all enjoyed being at school and felt that teachers explained things clearly to them and helped them when they were having difficulty with their work. They felt safe and well looked after in school. All staff enjoyed working in the school and thought that pupils were enthusiastic about learning. They thought staff worked hard to promote good relationships in the local community. All staff thought the school was well led.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

The overall structure of the curriculum was good. Pupils had a good breadth of experiences which were enhanced by a range of out-of-school-hours activities. Additional time had been allocated to English language and mathematics, but the impact on pupils’ learning had not yet been evaluated. As part of the reduction in class contact time, pupils’ knowledge and skills in health and information and communications technology (ICT), were progressively and effectively developed at all stages. At P6 and P7, pupils were learning French. Staff had begun to plan for an increase in the time allocated to physical education (PE), which was less than the recommended two hours per week. Due to staffing difficulties, pupils in the early stages were not fully benefiting from planned, structured play activities. The quality of teaching was good, with some lessons which interested and actively involved pupils. Teachers gave clear explanations and instructions and most made good use of praise to increase pupils’ confidence. They planned carefully and were beginning to share with pupils what they were expected to learn. Most staff helpfully reviewed what had been learned at the end of each lesson. Teachers regularly marked pupils’ written work and were beginning to give some helpful advice on what they could do to improve. Regular homework was set but it was often limited and lacked variety.

The quality of pupils’ learning was good. All pupils were well behaved and keen to learn. They listened well to teachers’ instructions and directions. They responded well when given the opportunity to work in pairs or groups, for example in health, problem solving and ICT. For example, pupils in P5 responded well to a stimulating lesson in environmental studies, in which they took active parts in teams. Pupils were developing a range of skills in ICT but did not use computers for a wide enough variety of tasks. Pupils were beginning to evaluate their own and others’ work in writing. For the majority of pupils, the pace of learning was too slow and, at times, pupils were passive learners.

The school had taken some very positive steps in helping pupils to develop their wider achievements. All pupils were involved in a recent enterprise activity, culminating in a school art exhibition. This experience had improved pupils’ self-esteem and confidence. Pupils were developing their health and fitness through a wide range of out-of-school-hours clubs which included football, athletics and Scottish country dancing. They were enthusiastic about having a health promoting school and were knowledgeable about healthy lifestyles and healthy eating. They were proud of their silver award for health promotion. Pupils at P7 provided a ‘healthy snacks’ tuckshop using ‘Fairtrade’ products. A group of pupils attended the annual ‘Fairtrade’ conference. Pupils had been involved in the development of the school garden, working with a local business and parents. The National Youth Choir of Scotland was involved in an initiative in developing musical skills with pupils at P5. Pupils on the pupil council were developing their awareness of aspects of citizenship and knowledge of effective committee work. The school had received an Eco School silver award. Pupils supported a wide range of international charities including support for Kabompo School in Zambia. At P7, pupils were given the opportunity to develop their personal and social skills through participating in a residential activity.

English language

Pupils’ attainment in English language was good overall. However, attainment in reading and writing had declined in recent years. Most pupils were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment in reading, but only the majority were doing so in writing. At P2, most pupils were achieving national levels earlier than might normally be expected. However, a number of pupils at all stages were capable of higher levels of attainment. Pupils with additional support needs were making steady progress in their learning. At most stages, pupils listened well to instructions and spoke confidently about their personal experiences. Pupils read fluently and with good expression. They understood the main ideas in texts they read. Pupils in P7 showed an appreciation of a range of poetry and writing styles of different authors. At the early stages, staff made very effective use of story sacks. Pupils in P6 enjoyed their paired reading sessions with P2 pupils. Most enjoyed reading for pleasure, but resources in the school library did not sufficiently support that purpose. At P3/4 pupils had compiled their own poetry book. Across the school, pupils were given a range of opportunities to write for different purposes. Pupils did not make sufficient use of computers to draft and edit their work. Pupils’ work in English language was normally well presented.

Mathematics

The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in mathematics was adequate. Over the past three years there had been a downward trend in pupils’ performance. The majority of pupils were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment. Many had achieved these levels earlier than had been expected, particularly at the early stages, but this good start was not maintained as pupils progressed through the stages. Levels of attainment for pupils at P7 had declined significantly. Pupils at all stages could interpret and understand a range of graphs. Those at the upper stages were skilled in using databases and spreadsheets for a range of purposes. At all stages, most pupils were developing good skills in written calculations. Some were less confident in using fractions and decimals. Pupils participated well in oral mental calculations, but some were not consistently quick or accurate enough in their answers. Most pupils had a good understanding of two- and three-dimensional shapes and could discuss the properties of shapes. They were making effective progress in developing their skills in solving problems systematically.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

Provision to meet the learning needs of all pupils was adequate. Support staff were working appropriately with groups of pupils and appropriate liaison took place to discuss pupils’ progress. Staff had worked hard to try to build on pupils’ prior learning. However, tasks and activities did not always meet the needs of all pupils. The pace of learning was often too slow and this affected pupils’ progress. Most pupils were unclear about what they needed to do to improve their work. Staff did not consistently involve pupils in setting their own learning targets. Support staff, classroom assistants and teachers with responsibility for learning support provided helpful assistance to groups and individual pupils. Most pupils receiving this support were making effective progress. The home link worker was involved in a range of tasks to support pupils’ learning. This included the effective use of story sacks and the training of P6 reading buddies. Individualised educational programmes were in place, but short term targets did not set out clearly enough what pupils were expected to achieve. Targets were not reviewed regularly enough to ensure pupils’ appropriate progress. Parents were not yet involved sufficiently closely in this process.

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 Brigid’s Primary School provided a very caring and welcoming environment for learning. Teachers and support staff were successful in creating a climate of respect and trust where pupils felt safe, happy and valued. Staff encouraged pupils to share their wide range of achievements and regularly celebrated success. Attainment was good in English language and adequate in mathematics. The challenge and pace of learning, particularly for higher-attaining pupils, required improvement. The quality of teaching and pupils’ learning experiences were good overall. Staff now needed to share strengths in learning and teaching to ensure a consistent approach across the school.

The experienced headteacher was highly committed to the school and its community. She enjoyed strong support from parents and was highly regarded by staff. She knew her staff and pupils well. She had played a significant part in improving many important aspects of the work of the school, and in developing the school’s very positive reputation in the local community. The headteacher now needed to build on these important strengths, working with her staff to establish a clearer, shared, vision for the school. She now required to focus her leadership more clearly on key priorities for action, including raising attainment. Teachers did not yet play enough of a part in leading school improvement. The school’s approach to self-evaluation was adequate. Systems were in place to monitor some aspects of the school’s work, including monitoring teachers’ plans, observing classroom practice and monitoring pupils’ work. These had not yet been rigorous enough to ensure improvements. There was scope for further improvements in tracking pupil progress. Teachers were not yet sufficiently involved in reviewing and improving their work. With the support of the education authority, the school had some capacity for continuous self-improvement.

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. HM Inspectors will continue to engage with the school and the education authority in monitoring progress, and will undertake a follow-through inspection. This will result in a report to parents, within two years of the publication of this report, on the extent of improvement that has been achieved.

Isabel Robb

HM Inspector

4 September 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. Where any one group had five or less respondees then, in order to maintain confidentiality, the analysis is not provided.

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.

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