Cumbernauld Primary School
North Lanarkshire Council

5 April 2005

Contents

1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. What are the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff?
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
5. How well are pupils supported?
6. How good is the environment for learning?
7. Improving the school
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
How can you contact us?

1. Background

Cumbernauld Primary School was inspected in January 2005 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 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 and staff. Members of the inspection team also met the chairpersons of the School Board and parent teacher association (PTA), and a group of parents.

The school is non-denominational. It serves the village of Cumbernauld and areas in the north of the new town. The school shares a campus and many facilities with St Andrew’s Primary School. At the time of the inspection the roll was 613 which included 80 pupils attending through placing requests. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was below the national average. Pupils’ attendance was above the national average.

2. Key strengths

3. What are the views of parents and carers, 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 who were interviewed and responded to the questionnaire were happy with almost all aspects of the work of the school. They thought children enjoyed being at school, were treated fairly and found work stimulating and challenging. They believed that the school was well led. Some wanted a clearer idea about the school’s priorities for improving their children’s education. A substantial number expressed concerns about the congestion caused by parents’ cars as pupils arrived and departed. Teachers and support staff were very positive about almost all aspects of the school, including the quality of leadership. All believed that staff showed care and concern for pupils, that teachers set high standards for pupils’ attainment and that pupils were enthusiastic about learning. Pupils were very happy with the school and believed it helped them to keep safe and healthy. They thought that teachers explained things clearly, and that pupils had a say in how to make the school better.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

The curriculum provided pupils with a broad and balanced experience including French or German for pupils at P6 and P7. It made valuable contributions to pupils’ learning in key aspects of health, citizenship and enterprise. Additional time was allocated to English language and mathematics to improve pupils’ experience and attainment. Teachers used a broad range of approaches, with many good examples of whole-class teaching and work in smaller groups. Staff praised pupils appropriately to encourage them and to reward them for tasks done well. Teachers used homework very effectively to support pupils’ learning. Staff did not make enough use of information and communications technology (ICT) in learning and teaching. Most made effective use of assessment information to monitor pupils’ progress and plan next steps in their learning.

Pupils were very well-behaved and applied themselves well to their tasks. Most responded well to teaching. Pupils showed independence and maturity when given the opportunity to work in groups. They were learning the skills and roles needed to make effective contributions to teamwork. They cooperated well with classmates, support staff and teachers but a few pupils needed to be more actively involved.

Pupils were developing appropriate values and attitudes through programmes in religious and moral education (RME) and personal and social development (PSD), and through successful fundraising for charity. They learned important aspects of responsible citizenship from the school’s links with the local community, including the close working partnership with St Andrew’s Primary School. They undertook duties such as acting as prefects and "bully busters" and some participated in the very effective pupil council. Two pupils had been appointed Junior Road Safety Officers. Pupils in P6 and P7 could take part in residential experiences for outdoor activities, and rose well to the challenges of these activities. Many pupils developed skills and performed well in extra-curricular activities. They participated in competitions, some jointly with the neighbouring St Andrew’s Primary School, and many had won awards locally and nationally in poetry, music, swimming and athletics. A group of pupils in P7 had reached the final stages of the national "Be an Inventor" competition, and others had won an award for their contribution to raising awareness of renewable energy. Many pupils had performed well in initiatives relating to environmental awareness, health promotion and enterprise in education.

English language

The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was good. The school had maintained good overall standards in pupils’ attainment for a number of years. Pupils were making very good progress in their coursework at P1-P2 and P5-P7. Most pupils achieved appropriate national levels of attainment in listening, talking, reading and writing. Many pupils were attaining these levels early. Pupils in most classes listened attentively in class and could clearly recall information from previous lessons. At P1, pupils were successfully using their detailed picture plans to develop their writing. At P4 to P7, most pupils enjoyed reading for pleasure. They participated enthusiastically in an initiative to promote reading more widely across the school. At P6 and P7, the quality of pupils’ creative and functional writing was good and they presented it carefully and neatly. By P7, pupils talked very confidently about a range of books and authors and offered mature opinions about current issues. Pupils with English as an additional language were making good progress in developing their language skills.

Mathematics

The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in mathematics was good. Over the last four years, levels of attainment had fluctuated but there were indications of improvement. Almost all pupils at P1 to P3 and most at P4 to P7 had attained appropriate national attainment levels in mathematics. A few had exceeded these levels. Most pupils were making good progress in their coursework, but a few needed more challenging tasks. At all stages, most pupils performed mental calculations accurately. Pupils in P1 worked well together in small groups to record sets of ten. At P3 to P7, most pupils had good skills in written calculations. Pupils in P7 organised and interpreted information from a variety of graphs accurately. They made good use of spreadsheets to represent data collected for personal projects. At all stages, most pupils used a range of approaches effectively to solve problems, working confidently in small groups.

5. How well are pupils supported?

Staff were caring, committed to pupils’ welfare and sensitive to their physical, social and emotional needs. Staff were well supported by a range of policies, including one for child protection, which were effective in ensuring the care and welfare of pupils. Pupils felt safe in the school and had confidence in its procedures for dealing with bullying. They felt able to discuss confidential matters with the headteacher, teachers and support staff.

Overall, pupils’ needs were well met. The school provided good support for pupils experiencing difficulties with their learning. Area learning support staff, teachers, promoted staff and support staff all made valuable contributions, working with groups and individuals. A number of pupils benefited from support for English as an additional language, through helpful programmes provided by a visiting teacher. The school had made time available for the range of staff who worked with individual pupils to consult and plan programmes. The school formed teaching groups for English and mathematics from P3 to P7 on the basis of the pupils’ prior attainments. These arrangements helped to ensure that pupils worked at an appropriate level and pace. Teachers used some effective approaches to meet the needs of higher attaining pupils. There remained scope to provide greater challenge and pace for these pupils. Working with the education authority, the school needed to improve some aspects of its management of Records of Needs.

6. How good is the environment for learning?

7. Improving the school

Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.

The school provided pupils with a broad curriculum and effective teaching. Staff were committed to pupils’ welfare, and to promoting high standards. They provided pupils with a supportive environment to encourage them to become successful learners and confident individuals. Pupils’ attainments in English language, mathematics and across other areas of the curriculum were good. Many pupils had broader achievements, including notable successes in important aspects of health, citizenship and enterprise.

The headteacher provided strong leadership which had been particularly effective in establishing the new school and building a commendable partnership with St Andrew’s Primary School. Staff had confidence in her leadership and its potential to improve the school’s performance. She was respected by parents, carers and the wider educational community. She had introduced a wide range of improvements to the curriculum, and in learning and teaching. She led a strong team of two depute headteachers and one principal teacher. Each had important remits, including responsibilities for stages and curriculum areas, which they fulfilled well. However, too much of the depute headteachers’ time was used for teaching groups, leaving too little opportunity for them to take on more strategic roles including aspects of quality assurance. The principal teacher had a positive impact on her areas of responsibility and provided a very good role model through her class teaching commitment.

The school used some effective approaches to ensure continuing improvement. Staff reviewed the quality of their work, for example by using national quality indicators. They needed to use these more rigorously. The headteacher monitored the school’s performance well overall, using a range of evidence such as samples of pupils’ work and information about pupils’ attainment. She kept a good overview of learning and teaching through her frequent presence in the open plan teaching areas. These approaches needed to be developed more fully by regular observation of classwork, by providing teachers with detailed feedback, and by identifying those aspects of learning and teaching which needed to be improved. Teachers were appropriately involved in consultation on the school’s development priorities.

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 and carers. Within two years of the publication of this report parents and carers will be informed about the progress made by the school.

Bill Geddes

HM Inspector

5 April 2005

Appendix 1 Indicators of quality

We judged the following to be very good

• Pastoral care
• Accommodation and facilities
• Climate and relationships
• Equality and fairness
• Partnership with parents, the School Board and the community
• Leadership

We judged the following to be good

• Structure of the curriculum
• The teaching process
• Pupils’ learning experiences
• Pupils’ attainment in English language
• Pupils’ attainment in mathematics
• Meeting pupils’ needs
• Expectations and promoting achievement
• Self-evaluation

We judged the following to be fair

• No aspects were found to be in this category

We judged the following to be unsatisfactory

• No aspects were found to be in this category

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, 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.

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 Frank Crawford, HMCI, at the above address.

Our complaints procedure

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, 2^nd Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from this office or by telephoning 01506 600265 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. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should write to The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 4-6 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7NS. You can also telephone 0870 011 5378 or e-mail enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.scottishombudsman.org.uk

Crown Copyright 2005
HM Inspectorate of Education

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