Sacred Heart Primary School
Bridgeton
Glasgow City Council

5 September 2006

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 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

Sacred Heart Primary School was inspected in May 2006 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, including the pupil council, and staff. Members of the inspection team also met the chairperson of the School Board, and a group of parents¹.

Sacred Heart Primary School is a denominational school serving Bridgeton and Dalmarnock in the east of Glasgow. At the time of the inspection the roll was 262. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was well above the national average. Pupils' attendance was below the national average.

2. Key strengths

3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?

HM Inspectors analysed responses to questionnaires issued to all parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2.

Parents thought that their children enjoyed being at school and found their work stimulating and challenging. They felt welcome in school and believed that the school had a good reputation in the community. They believed that staff showed care and concern for their children and treated them fairly. They thought the school was well led. All pupils enjoyed being at school. They stated that teachers helped them when they found work difficult and checked homework regularly. They particularly liked when they were told they had done something well. All teachers and support staff liked working in the school. They all stated that the school was well led and that staff showed care and concern for the welfare of pupils. Almost all support staff thought that their training time could be used more effectively. A majority of support staff felt that they did not have sufficient opportunities to be involved in decision making in the school.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

The school provided pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum which helped them to develop a range of effective skills. Additional teaching time given to English language and mathematics had been used successfully to raise pupils’ attainment. Recent developments to several areas of the curriculum, including science and technology, had resulted in notable improvements to the quality of pupils’ learning experiences. All pupils participated successfully in enterprise activities and, at all stages, pupils were able to learn a modern foreign language. They benefited from broad and progressive experiences in music, science and environmental studies. However, they did not have sufficient opportunities for active learning through play at P1 to P3. Teachers were not yet developing pupils’ skills in listening and talking in a sufficiently systematic way. The overall quality of teaching was good. All teachers gave clear explanations to classes, groups and individuals. Most teachers shared with pupils what was to be learned. Almost all used a variety of approaches, often with very good questioning, to reinforce and develop pupils’ understanding. Most teachers made good use of information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance their teaching and stimulate pupils’ imaginations. While homework was a regular feature, it lacked variety and did not consistently challenge able pupils.

Pupils were enthusiastic, keen to learn and enjoyed their schoolwork. They were well behaved, stayed focused on tasks and co-operated with others when working in small groups. They responded well in lessons, especially when they were given responsibility for aspects of their own learning, and were able to work collaboratively with others. Pupils would benefit from more of such opportunities in English language and mathematics. Pupils had some good opportunities to work in pairs and in groups but this was not consistent across all stages. At times, teachers provided pupils with too much direction and did not allow them to develop enough independence in learning.

The school placed a strong and effective emphasis on promoting pupils’ wider achievements. Staff planned interesting and stimulating activities which helped to develop pupils’ skills across the curriculum. For example, whilst engaged in science activities, pupils used mathematical knowledge to record and analyse information appropriately. In music, pupils benefited from regular workshops with professional groups including the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the National Youth Choir of Scotland, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and a musician in residence. The ‘Room 13’ project was successfully developing pupils’ skills in composition and performance. At all stages, pupils benefited from a very good range of sporting and musical activities and clubs. Staff planned visits which enhanced the curriculum and promoted pupils’ wider achievements. For example, a summer club led by the depute headteacher offered pupils, parents and staff the opportunity to learn Spanish.

English language

The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was good and had improved in recent years. In reading, writing, listening and talking, most pupils were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment. In reading and writing, most pupils in the early stages were achieving appropriate national levels earlier than might normally be expected. Pupils had good opportunities to listen and talk to others. However, attainment in listening and talking was not systematically assessed or recorded. Almost all pupils listened attentively to their teachers. They responded well to questions. At P7, pupils contributed well to group discussions and were able to express their ideas and opinions. In the early stages, pupils were showing an enthusiasm for reading. They were able to read books, instructions, and enjoyed reading stories which they had written. Throughout the school pupils enjoyed reading for pleasure and most read fluently, with expression. Many pupils visited the local library. Recently, the school had been focusing on writing. Pupils were encouraged to write for a variety of purposes. For example, pupils at P7 had written letters to pen-friends in Italy. Pupils wrote reports from their science lessons and wrote design plans for their technology projects. Pupils’ handwriting skills and presentation of work was good, but there was room for improvement.

Mathematics

The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in mathematics was good. There had been an improving trend in attainment over the last three years. Across the school, most pupils were achieving appropriate national levels of attainment. All pupils in P2, and a few at other stages, were achieving appropriate national levels earlier than might normally be expected. Pupils at P1 had made a good start to the development of their mathematical skills. At all stages, pupils demonstrated good understanding of how to organise and present information. They were able to carry out written calculations accurately but were not sufficiently quick with mental calculations. A few pupils at P7 needed to consolidate their understanding of previous number work, particularly fractions, decimals and percentages. Almost all pupils demonstrated a good knowledge and understanding of shape. Across the school, pupils were developing effective skills in problem-solving and enquiry and were able to report their findings clearly and accurately.

5. How well are pupils supported?

The school had very good arrangements in place to ensure the care and welfare of pupils. Staff knew pupils very well and were sensitive to their social, emotional and physical needs. They had a clear understanding of the school’s child protection and anti-bullying procedures and followed these appropriately. Pupils felt safe in the school and were confident that they could discuss sensitive issues with staff. The school gave high priority to promoting health education and healthy living, including education about personal relationships and aspects of personal safety. The school’s breakfast club provided pupils with a healthy breakfast to give them a good start to the day. Staff had introduced an initiative in which older pupils helped younger pupils. This supported the school’s anti-bullying approaches and encouraged the development of pupils’ citizenship skills. There were well-planned arrangements in place to support the transition of pupils from nursery to P1. Overall, transition arrangements between P7 and secondary school were adequate.

Arrangements to support pupils’ learning were good overall. Teachers often took effective steps, such as grouping pupils by prior attainment, to meet the differing needs of pupils in their classes. However, they did not always make effective use of assessment evidence to determine next steps in pupils’ learning and plan tasks which challenged all pupils. Pupils receiving additional support were making good progress in their learning. Pupils with additional support needs were identified accurately and supported effectively. The network support for learning teacher provided good assistance to individuals and groups who needed extra help with their learning. She provided an important link with the local secondary school and supported pupils with additional support needs when they transferred to their new school. Teachers made good use of individualised educational programmes to plan and monitor the progress of a few pupils. Learning targets were clear and appropriate. These were shared regularly with parents but pupils were not yet sufficiently involved in the process. Across the school, teachers were also beginning to set learning targets for other pupils. Every pupil had a personal learning plan which had been shared with parents. These arrangements were yet to impact on what pupils were learning in classes. A range of external agencies was used effectively to support pupils and meet their varying needs. Classroom assistants and special educational needs auxiliaries assisted pupils in classes and during break times. In lessons, these staff were not always deployed effectively to ensure that pupils’ learning needs were met.

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 headteacher and staff of Sacred Heart Primary School provided a caring, inclusive and supportive learning environment in which pupils felt safe, happy and valued. The overall quality of learning and teaching was good. Pupils’ attainment in English language and mathematics was good and improving. Pupils had access to a stimulating curriculum and wide range of activities which successfully helped them to become confident individuals and responsible citizens. There was a high level of pastoral care for all. The school was well placed to continue to improve.

The headteacher provided the school with good leadership. She had a clear vision for improving the school and was enthusiastic and very well respected by staff, parents and pupils. The headteacher showed strong commitment to the school and its community. Through effective partnerships with parents and staff, she had led improvements to the curriculum and to the quality of learning and teaching. Consequently, the school had been successful in raising attainment. The depute headteacher provided good support to the headteacher. Her wide and varied remit included responsibility for support for learning, which she managed very effectively. Two principal teachers undertook their responsibilities conscientiously and thoroughly. The headteacher, with the full cooperation of staff, had established clear and rigorous approaches to monitoring and evaluating the work of the school. There were well established and effective approaches to planning for improvement. Priorities were clearly targeted at improving pupils’ learning experiences and attainment. The views of parents and pupils had been sought and used to help develop aspects of the work of the school. Senior managers carefully tracked pupils’ progress. The headteacher and depute headteacher monitored the quality of teachers’ work through a programme of focused classroom visits, reviewing teachers’ plans and sampling pupils’ work. The information gathered from the extensive audit of the school was not always used effectively to inform future 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. Within two years of the publication of this report parents will be informed about the progress made by the school.

Peter Carpenter
HM Inspector

5 September 2006

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 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 .

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.

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, Second 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 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. 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 2006

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.

Footnote

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