St Fergus’ Primary School
Paisley
Renfrewshire Council

20 March 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 Fergus’ Primary School was inspected in December 2006 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 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 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.

St Fergus’ Primary School is a denominational school serving the Ferguslie Park area of Paisley. The school provides specialist support for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. At the time of the inspection the roll was 176, including seven pupils in the support base and 15 in the nursery class. The headteacher was seconded to the education authority on a part-time basis. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was well above the national average. Pupils’ attendance was below the national average. The school had achieved Charter Mark and Eco School status.

The nursery class was inspected at the same time and is the subject of a separate report.

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, pupils and staff were very positive about the school. Parents thought that the school had a good reputation in the local community and felt welcome. They felt that their children were encouraged to work to the best of their ability. All parents thought parents’ evenings were helpful and informative. They appreciated the information which they received from teachers about their children’s progress. Almost all pupils enjoyed school. All believed the school helped them to keep safe and healthy. They felt that teachers listened to any concerns they might have and were good at helping them to improve their learning. Staff were very positive about all aspects of the school. They thought that they had good opportunities to be involved in decision making.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

Teachers in mainstream classes and in the support base provided pupils with a broad range of learning experiences which successfully helped them to develop a good range of skills. They ensured that there was an appropriate balance of aspects across the curriculum. Teachers’ planned use of additional time for English language had impacted on raising attainment in writing. However, there was a need for improvement in the depth and quality of the curriculum for talking and listening and for aspects of mathematics. Pupils were effectively developing their skills in information and communications technology (ICT). However, they did not use ICT frequently enough in their class work. Pupils benefited from sound approaches to personal, social and health education which assisted them in becoming confident individuals. Commendably, the school had also extended provision for physical education (PE) in order to improve the health and well-being of all pupils. Pupils’ experiences in PE were enhanced through the contribution of the active schools sports coordinator. The overall quality of teaching was good. Teachers made good use of praise to develop pupils’ confidence and organised pupils learning and behaviour well. In the most effective lessons, they were skilled in using questions to check pupils’ understanding. In most lessons, they gave clear explanations to pupils about their work and shared with them what they were expected to learn. However, they did not consistently provide pupils with feedback about how they could improve their work. Teaching within mathematics did not provide pupils with enough opportunities to practice and consolidate previous learning. Homework was regularly set and included a good range of appropriate learning activities.

Most pupils were enthusiastic and motivated learners. When they had the opportunity, they worked effectively in pairs and groups. For example, pupils in P5 worked well together in science to design a box for their investigations about light and reflection. At P7, pupils were making good progress in developing their research skills by gathering information from the Internet for their topics. However, across the school, pupils did not have enough opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning. For example, they did not often organise their own projects. At all stages, pupils were making good progress in developing their skills in art and design using different techniques and media. At P1 to P3, pupils were not active enough in their learning, for example, through play. Pupils in the support base were making good progress in developing life-skills in personal and social development. For example, they cooperated well with each other in problem solving activities in mathematics and had purposeful interaction with mainstream pupils at playtime and for assemblies.

The school took very good steps to promote pupils’ wider achievements. At all stages, pupils benefited from a range of after-school activities. These included football, netball, dance and puppetry. They were developing as responsible global citizens through the school’s links with a community in South Africa and actively raised funds for a range of local and national charities. A few pupils from different stages contributed to school decision making as members of the pupil council and the Eco School committee. Pupils at all stages had good opportunities to exercise responsibility, for example, by being class monitors, playground friends, litter monitors and peer mediators. Pupils’ confidence and self-esteem were enhanced through their successful involvement in national competitions. The school had recently won first prize in a national anti-bullying competition and had achieved notable recognition for its work in environmental education. It had twice been awarded Eco School status and had gained the Greenfinch Award from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

English language

The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was good. Over the last three years, most pupils had achieved appropriate national levels of attainment in reading, listening and talking. There had been encouraging signs of improvement in writing, with most pupils attaining appropriate national levels in the past year. Overall, pupils listened attentively and responded well to questions and instructions. However, their skills in group discussion were not well enough developed. At the early stages, pupils were making good progress in developing their early literacy skills. Pupils at all stages could read confidently and with understanding. They regularly read for pleasure and made good use of a very wide range of fiction available in each class. Pupils from P5 to P7 effectively contributed their ideas about books which they had read within the context of literacy circles. Most pupils’ writing skills were developing well across the school. By P7, they were confident in writing within different contexts, for example, in devising leaflets about the school. However, at all stages, pupils’ skills in handwriting and presentation were not sufficiently well developed.

Mathematics

The overall quality of attainment in mathematics was good. Over the last three years, most pupils had achieved appropriate national levels of attainment. A significant number of pupils were achieving these levels earlier than might normally be expected. Across the school, pupils could interpret information effectively using graphs and charts. Those in P7 had undertaken their own surveys and could display their findings. However, they did not have enough experience of using ICT to organise and present information using databases and spreadsheets. At the early stages, pupils were making good progress in learning numeracy skills. From P4 to P7, pupils were not consistently speedy or accurate in their mental calculations. By P7, they did not have a secure understanding of numerical processes such as fractions and decimals. Across the school, pupils had a good understanding of money and time, including the 24-hour clock. They demonstrated good knowledge of the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes. At all stages, pupils were developing their skills in problem solving but were not yet confident in using a range of strategies.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

The school’s approaches to meeting pupils’ learning needs were very good. Teachers and classroom assistants worked well together to help pupils to progress with their learning. Staff had very effective systems to identify pupils requiring additional support with their learning. The management team effectively deployed staff to provide well-focused assistance to pupils in order to raise their attainment. Staff who worked with pupils who required additional support met regularly to discuss pupils’ progress. The depute headteacher worked closely with class teachers and support for learning staff to prepare individualised educational programmes (IEPs) for pupils. These IEPs were well-planned and contained clear learning targets which were shared with parents. Across the school, pupils’ needs were very well supported by the extended support team which included representatives from other agencies such as social services and health. There were effective arrangements for the transfer of pupils from nursery to P1 and from P7 to St Andrew’s Academy.

Pupils who attended the support base were making good progress in their learning. Teachers used effective teaching approaches and provided pupils with helpful feedback about their work and progress in personal and social skills. Teaching and support staff knew pupils well and responded sensitively to their social, emotional and behavioural needs. All pupils had well-planned IEPs with targets for their learning and behaviour. Staff reviewed pupils’ progress on a daily and weekly basis. They liaised very effectively with teachers from mainstream classes to plan pupils’ opportunities for inclusion, for example, in drama, music and PE. Very good cooperation with the active sports initiative had led to sports activities after school for a few pupils. Partnerships with the educational psychologist, home/school link worker and social workers ensured effective links with parents and productive inter-agency cooperation.

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 Fergus’ Primary School provided a very supportive and welcoming environment for pupils. The standard of pastoral care was excellent and was characterised by innovative approaches to supporting pupils and very effective links with other professional agencies. The quality of teaching was good. Most pupils were hardworking, motivated and well behaved and responded well to the range of systems to promote their confidence and sense of social responsibility. Overall, they were making good progress in their attainment in English language and mathematics. At times, the pace of learning was too fast and did not enable pupils to consolidate their understanding, particularly in mathematics. When they had the opportunity, pupils worked well together in pairs and groups. Across the school, their learning experiences did not consistently involve them in taking responsibility for their own learning.

The experienced headteacher was very committed to supporting pupils’ welfare and provided very good leadership. She demonstrated a clear sense of vision for the school’s improvement and had provided staff with helpful guidance in improving the work of the school. The headteacher had developed productive relationships with parents and encouraged their involvement in their children’s learning. She actively sought the views of parents, staff and pupils about aspects of the school’s work. Her consultative management style had assisted in promoting a strong team ethos where staff and pupils felt valued. She had taken good steps to include pupils from the support base in the life of the school. The depute headteacher provided very good support to the school and ensured the effective operation of the school during the headteacher’s part-time secondment. Both the depute and the principal teachers carried out their responsibilities very effectively. The headteacher had encouraged staff at all levels to develop and share their expertise in taking forward curricular developments. The management team had introduced a range of systems to monitor and evaluate the work of the school. These included observations of classroom practice, monitoring forward plans and pupils’ work. The headteacher and depute discussed pupils’ progress with staff and tracked the overall attainment of pupils systematically. They provided teachers with helpful feedback on their work. However, they did not yet collate the outcomes of classroom monitoring activities systematically in order to identify key areas for school improvement. The school had clear capacity to build on current strengths to bring about required 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. Within two years of the publication of this report the education authority, working with the school, will provide a progress report to parents.

Noreen Connaughton

HM Inspector

20 March 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 Director of Education and Leisure, 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

If you wish to comment about primary inspections

Should you wish to comment on any aspect of primary inspections, you should write in the first instance to Chris McIlroy, Acting 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 Hazel Dewart, Business Management Unit, HM Inspectorate of Education, Second Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. A copy of the HMIE Feedback and Complaints Procedure leaflet is available from this office or by telephoning 01506 600258 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.