20 May 2003
1. Introduction
2. The school
3. How well are pupils performing?
4. How good is the curriculum?
5. How good is learning and teaching?
6. How well are pupils supported?
7. How well is the school managed?
8. How well does the school perform
overall?
Key strengths
Main points for action
Appendix
Indicators of quality
Quality of lessons observed
How can you contact us?
Carbrain Primary School was inspected in February 2003 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 how well pupils were performing, the effectiveness of the school and how well the school was managed.
HM Inspectors evaluated learning, teaching and attainment, examined pupils’ work and interviewed staff and pupils. They assessed the school’s processes for self-evaluation and development planning. There was a particular focus on attainment in English language, mathematics and science within environmental studies.
Members of the inspection team analysed responses to questionnaires issued to a sample of parents. A member of the inspection team also met a representative of the parents, friends and teachers association (PFTA) and a group of parents.
Carbrain Primary School serves the South Carbrain area of Cumbernauld. Carbrain is a designated regeneration area and since August 2002 the school has been part of North Lanarkshire’s New Community School programme. To help achieve the programme’s main aim of promoting the social inclusion of pupils, the education authority and the school had increased levels of staffing and resources in the school. At the time of the inspection the roll was 242 with a further 72 pupils attending the nursery class. Almost half of the pupils were entitled to free school meals, a figure well above the national average.
Parents’ views
Parents who responded to the questionnaire were satisfied with the work of the school.
Almost all thought that:
Most parents felt that the school had a good reputation in the community and that their children found work stimulating and challenging. Most thought that the school was good at consulting them and responding to any concerns they raised. Some parents would like more information on the standard of work expected and how to support their children with homework.
Ethos
The headteacher and staff had created a caring and welcoming environment for pupils, parents and visitors to the school. Almost all pupils were polite and courteous and co-operated with staff. However, a few pupils presented staff with very challenging behaviour. Not all staff felt secure and morale was sometimes low. Across the school teachers used praise effectively to encourage and motivate pupils. Assemblies provided very good opportunities for religious observance and the celebration of pupils’ achievements. Pupils’ attendance was well below national averages. The school, with the assistance of the local authority, needed to address the impact of absence and late-coming on pupils’ progress and achievement.
School and community
The school had established very good links with parents, the local nursery, other local schools, educational support services and the wider community.
Accommodation
The overall quality of accommodation was good. Strong features included a newly-furbished library, learning support and behaviour support bases and good-sized classrooms. Teachers displayed pupils’ work effectively but they needed to include examples from more areas of the curriculum. The building was kept very clean and tidy. Security arrangements included good fencing round the playground area which had helped reduce vandalism.
Staffing and resources
The school was very well staffed. Almost all teachers were very experienced. The local authority had provided additional staffing to support learning and behaviour needs. Classroom assistants, nursery nurses in the early intervention programme and special needs auxiliaries provided very effective support. The janitor and the clerical, cleaning and catering staff made valuable contributions to the work of the school.
The school had a very good range of well organised resources including a very good number of up-to-date computers. The headteacher, in consultation with her staff, managed the school’s finances very well to support the school’s development priorities.
English language
The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was fair. Attainment had fluctuated in recent years. Most pupils coped well with most aspects of their coursework. Across the school, the majority of children were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment in listening, talking, reading and writing, although fewer did so by P7. A few pupils at P3 had reached these standards early. At P1 and P2, pupils were making good progress with early reading and writing skills. Most pupils read regularly for pleasure and could discuss books of various kinds. Some pupils, especially from P5 to P7, produced lively and interesting pieces of writing for a range of purposes. Pupils were attentive and demonstrated good recall of information. They lacked confidence in expressing their feelings and opinions. They had not yet developed secure skills for listening and talking in groups.
Mathematics
The overall quality of attainment in mathematics was fair. At all stages they performed well on tasks set in class but these were sometimes undemanding. Pupils made brisk progress in P1 and P2 but progress was much slower at the later stages. From P3 to P7, the majority of pupils achieved appropriate national levels of attainment in information handling, number, money and measurement and shape, position and movement. Pupils were developing skills in problem-solving and enquiry. Across the stages, pupils were competent in written calculations involving number and money. They had a sound knowledge of shape and were secure in interpreting information from graphs. Their skills were weaker in estimating and using appropriate units in measurement. Some pupils needed to improve their recall and use of multiplication tables.
Science
The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in science was good. Most pupils were performing well in the knowledge and understanding aspects of their coursework. Pupils’ investigative skills were less well developed but showed recent signs of improvement. At P1 and P2, pupils could explain what they had learned about the five senses and could name plants and animals from the rainforest. P4 pupils were beginning to understand the concept of a fair test in scientific investigations. Pupils in P6 could explain how shadows were formed and could describe different types of energy. At P7 pupils were developing a wider understanding of key concepts related to their study of forces.
The curriculum was broad and generally well balanced. Pupils in P6 and P7 learned French. The school should improve its programme for personal and social development to ensure appropriate breadth, balance and progression. It should also ensure that programmes provided pupils with regular opportunities to develop and use skills in information and communications technology (ICT).
English language
The programme for English language was good. It gave due attention to most aspects of listening, talking, reading and writing. Teachers provided pupils with regular opportunities to read for pleasure and to study novels. They needed to provide more structured opportunities for pupils to develop skills in talking in groups. The school should proceed with its plans to review the programme to develop pupils’ knowledge about language from P4 to P7.
Mathematics
The programme for mathematics was good. It gave suitable attention to each of its main aspects. At all stages, teachers developed mental mathematics skills carefully. Pupils needed more opportunities for practical measurement and to use computers in information handling.
Science
The recently introduced science programme was good. Teachers made effective use of support materials and advice produced by the education authority. They provided well-planned opportunities for pupils to develop knowledge and understanding of their science topics. However they now needed to focus more on the practical skills of planning experiments, collecting and recording evidence and drawing conclusions.
Environmental studies
The programme for environmental studies was fair. It provided coverage of some aspects of technology and social subjects. Mapping in geography was very well structured. The school should develop the programme further to ensure the progressive development of pupils’ skills from P1 to P7.
Teachers gave clear, helpful explanations and instructions and used praise effectively to motivate pupils and build self-esteem. However, sometimes they took too strong a lead in delivering lessons and limited pupils’ contributions. Teachers demonstrated some effective direct interactive teaching, managed their classrooms well and questioned pupils effectively to check for understanding. They organised their daily lessons well and longer term planning was generally effective. Planning in science and environmental studies needed to be improved.
The quality of pupils’ learning experiences was fair. While most pupils worked conscientiously, the pace of learning was sometimes too slow. Generally teachers did not challenge higher attaining pupils sufficiently well. Pupils responded with enthusiasm when working collaboratively but needed more opportunities to do so.
Arrangements for assessing and recording pupils’ progress were good. Teachers knew their pupils well and used national tests appropriately to confirm their judgements of pupils’ attainment. Teachers should evaluate further the overall impact of their teaching and alter plans in the light of what they learn. Staff provided parents with two annual reports which gave useful information on pupils’ progress, especially in English language and mathematics. As yet, reports lacked detail on the development of pupils’ skills in some other areas of the curriculum.
Care and welfare
The quality of pastoral care in the school was good. The headteacher and staff were strongly committed to promoting pupils’ care and welfare. The school had clear procedures for dealing with incidents relating to pupils’ health and safety, including child protection and the
prevention of bullying. The school and local authority needed to improve arrangements for promoting healthy eating, particularly in the tuck shop and the range of healthy options available at lunchtime.
Personal and social development
The school’s approaches to pupils’ personal and social development had a number of strengths but several important weaknesses. Staff supported the development of self-esteem and confidence through a range of activities including Circle Time, Golden Time and awards schemes. Pupils had regular opportunities to participate in school decision-making through the pupil council and the Eco Committee. They worked with the Parent Support Worker on projects designed to promote personal responsibility and working with others. Senior pupils were conscientious in undertaking duties designed to develop their personal responsibility and had opportunities to develop enterprise skills. The health education programme included aspects of personal safety, hygiene, personal relationships and the dangers of substance misuse. However, the school’s procedures for meeting the needs of the small number of pupils with particular behavioural difficulties had not yet made sufficient impact. School staff, in conjunction with appropriate external support agencies, should improve the planned programme for personal and social development to ensure the progressive development of pupils’ skills. A key aim should be to reduce incidents of confrontational behaviour.
Support for learning
The school had good arrangements to support pupils’ learning. The headteacher and the school Learning Support Group co-ordinated the work of class teachers, area network learning and behaviour support teachers and other agencies. The depute headteacher and area network teachers made important contributions to a reading programme for developing pupils’ skills at a quicker pace. Classroom assistants provided very well-judged support for pupils’ learning, use of the library and activities within Golden Time. Well-organised individualised educational programmes supported pupils with a wide range of significant educational and behavioural needs.
No pupil had a Record of Needs though some pupils had significant difficulties which had adversely affected their opportunities for learning. The education authority, in conjunction with the school, should consider opening Records of Needs for pupils who are assessed as having specific or complex special educational needs which require continuing review.
Overall management and leadership
The headteacher provided fair leadership. She was conscientious and committed to the school and local community. In her two years in post, she had introduced a number of effective procedures to ensure policies were properly audited and revised. She carefully involved staff in development planning and had secured extra staffing and resources to support pupils’ learning. She had also developed award systems and made very effective use of assemblies to recognise good behaviour and achievement. However, her leadership had some important weaknesses. Despite her efforts to establish effective teamwork, she had not yet been successful in gaining the support of all staff. Progress in improving aspects of the pupils’ learning experiences and raising attainment had been slow. She needed to monitor attainment more rigorously.
The depute headteacher carried out her remit very well and with enthusiasm. She gave very good support to the headteacher. The senior teachers fulfilled their duties very effectively. Their own teaching provided models of good practice and they made valuable contributions to curriculum development. However, staff with additional responsibilities needed to work more closely as a team.
The school had appropriate aims which were communicated to parents. Some policies provided good guidance for staff. Others were being reviewed to reflect current good practice.
Staff review and development
The school’s arrangements for staff review and development were good. All staff had been involved in a professional review in line with education authority guidelines. Staff development was well organised to meet the priorities in the development plan. Staff needed further training in managing pupils’ challenging behaviour.
Planning for improvement
The school’s approach to planning for improvement was fair. The priorities in the current plan suitably reflected the school’s needs. However, it lacked detail about how priorities would be achieved, timescales and the measures for judging success. The school had made good progress in achieving some of the targets in its previous plan.
Approaches to improving quality
The school’s approaches to improving quality were fair. The headteacher produced a helpful annual standards and quality report on the school’s performance. She had made a start to involving staff in evaluating the impact of their teaching using national quality indicators. She monitored teachers’ plans and profiles of pupils’ progress and provided feedback through written comments and formal discussions. The headteacher and staff should work together to identify and share effective classroom practice to ensure a consistently high quality of learning experiences for all pupils.
Carbrain Primary School was characterised by its welcoming and supportive environment. All staff were strongly committed to the pupils and provided high levels of care. The headteacher and staff recognised the need to improve pupils’ standards of attainment. The good quality of pupils’ progress in P1 and P2 provided a firm basis for raising attainment from P3. However, to achieve this aim the headteacher needed to work closely with staff and the education authority in improving behaviour management and levels of pace and challenge in pupils’ learning.
The school and education authority should act on the following recommendations.
HM Inspectors have asked the school and education authority to prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan with parents and carers. In liaison with the education authority, HM Inspectors will monitor progress to ensure improvements in line with the main findings of the report. They will arrange for further progress reports and visits to the school if necessary and will inform parents and carers of the outcomes of these when they occur.
Mary Ritchie
HM Inspector
on behalf of HM Chief Inspector
Western Division
20 May 2003
See Quality Indicator data below.
We judged the following to be very good
We judged the following to be good
We judged the following to be fair
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
HMI also evaluated the quality of the lessons observed. The overall quality of lessons was very good in 47% of cases, good in 41% and fair in 12%. There were no unsatisfactory lessons.
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, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG or by telephoning 0141 242 0100. Copies are also available on our web site: www.hmie.gov.uk
Should you wish to comment on or make a complaint about any aspect of the inspection or about this report, you should write in the first instance to Frank Crawford, HMCI at the above address. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from that office and on our website.
If you are still dissatisfied, you can contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman directly or through your member of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government Departments and Agencies. She will not normally consider your complaint before the HMIE complaints procedure has been used. Instead, she will usually ask you to give us the chance to put matters right if we can.
Complaints to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman must be submitted within 12 months of the date of publication of this report.
The Ombudsman can be contacted at:
Professor Alice Brown
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
23 Walker Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7HX
Telephone number: 0870 011 5378
e-mail: enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk
More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.ombudsmanscotland.org.uk
Crown Copyright 2003
HM Inspectorate of Education
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