St Boswells Primary School
Scottish Borders 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

St Boswells Primary School was inspected in April 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, representatives of the parent and friends association (PFA), and a group of parents¹.

The school serves the villages of St Boswells and Maxton and the surrounding area. At the time of the inspection the roll was 104. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was well below the national average. Pupils' attendance was above 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 expressed a high degree of satisfaction with almost all aspects of the school. Almost all felt their children enjoyed being at school and were treated fairly. They found parents’ meetings helpful and informative and considered the school had a good reputation in the community and was well led. All pupils felt teachers helped them and had high expectations of their work. Most felt that pupils were well behaved overall. Teachers and support staff were pleased about all aspects of the school’s work. All felt that standards of behaviour were high. A few support staff wanted more involvement in the decision-making process in the school. All staff thought the school was well led, most strongly agreeing with this statement.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

The school provided pupils with a very good curriculum which was broad and well balanced. Teachers made effective use of available time to extend the curriculum and to make well-judged links across different aspects of learning. At the early stages, pupils had very well organised experiences which allowed them to be active and engaged in their learning. Effective contributions from a wide range of specialist teachers enhanced the curriculum. Across the school, the updated mathematics and writing programmes were having a significant impact in improving the pace of learning and attainment. Pupils used computers appropriately in some of their lessons to find information and develop their word processing skills. However, they had insufficient independent access to develop their skills in information and communications technology(ICT) across the curriculum. Overall, the quality of teaching was good with some instances of very good teaching. Teachers interacted very well with pupils and were effective in sharing the purposes of lessons and explained ideas clearly. They used regular, focused assessments to make appropriate links to prior learning and across aspects of the curriculum. They encouraged pupils to develop their thinking skills and be actively involved in lessons, and valued their contributions. However, they did not always give pupils sufficiently specific advice on how they could judge the successful achievement of tasks. Homework was regular and varied and supported pupils’ learning effectively.

The overall quality of pupils’ learning was good. Most pupils were motivated and keen to learn and concentrated on tasks. They worked well independently and when cooperating in small groups. In the early stages, pupils engaged with enthusiasm in stimulating play activities and were developing good skills in planning for aspects of their own learning. At P4/5, pupils worked well independently on research tasks for their topic. At P6/7, pupils were able to explain their thinking when solving problems in mathematics. Across the stages, pupils were beginning to evaluate and comment on their own work. The pace of learning was generally brisk but did not always provide sufficient depth in learning.

Pupils were confident and showed responsibility and pride in themselves and their school. They were developing good citizenship skills through enterprise activities and raising funds for charity. For example, as part of their healthy eating project, pupils had produced a popular recipe book. Pupils had developed international citizenship skills through raising money by selling their community newsletter to buy bicycles for children in Uganda. Pupils at P5/6 were improving their school environment by taking part in a range of Eco School activities. Pupils from P3 to P7 contributed their views well through the pupils’ council. At P7, pupils took part in an annual residential visit which had helped them to be more independent and develop confidence. Staff offered pupils a wide selection of out-of-school activities, including performing in concerts and in making local excursions of educational interest.

English language

The overall quality of attainment in English language was good. In the previous two years, attainment results had improved, particularly in writing. Most pupils across the stages were attaining appropriate national levels in listening, talking, reading and writing and a few were making progress beyond these levels. There was scope for further improvement. Almost all pupils spoke articulately and listened attentively to staff. A few pupils interrupted occasionally and did not listen to the views of others when working in small groups. At P7, pupils gave effective individual oral presentations on a subject of their own choice and had learned skills such as inflection and eye contact to enable them to hold the audience’s attention. At P1 to P3, pupils read fluently and with expression. Pupils at P4/5 highlighted information well in texts to select important details. Those at P6/7 read effectively and were able to express opinions, supporting their views with evidence from the text. Throughout the school, pupils were able to identify favourite authors and give a synopsis of books they were currently reading. The quality of writing was of a very high standard. Pupils planned their writing well and wrote in a variety of styles.

Mathematics

The overall quality of attainment in mathematics was good. In recent years, standards had shown some improvement and current initiatives to raise attainment were beginning to have an impact. However, there was room to improve the overall level of attainment further. Almost all pupils at P3 and most at P4 to P7 were attaining appropriate levels for their stage. At the early stages, pupils organised and displayed information well in charts, and pupils at P6 and P7 were skilled in interpreting a range of graphs. They were less skilled at using ICT to handle information. At P1 and P2, pupils had made a good start to learning about number. At P3, most pupils added and subtracted two and three digit numbers well in written calculations. Most pupils from P4 to P7 performed well in mental calculations and carried out number work accurately, including working with money and measurement. A few were less sure in using these processes. At P7, most pupils were confident in working with fractions and percentages. Across the school, most pupils identified and had a good knowledge of the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes. From P5 to P7, most pupils were developing their skills well in identifying and using a range of strategies to solve problems.

5. How well are pupils supported?

The overall quality of care and welfare of pupils was very good. Staff were very caring and demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring pupils’ emotional and physical well-being. Teachers followed clear procedures for child protection, including dealing with any instances of bullying or drug misuse. Pupils felt safe and well looked after. Staff paid particularly good attention to developing pupils’ knowledge of healthy eating and the place of exercise in a healthy lifestyle. Pupils demonstrated care and concern for others and took part in an appropriate range of responsibilities. At P7, pupils worked very effectively as "buddies" for younger pupils, helping them each week in a range of class work, and also in their annual "Mathematics Olympics" challenge. Well-planned arrangements helped pupils to transfer from pre-school to P1 and move on to the secondary school.

Class teachers supported pupils very well in their learning. They were very considerate of pupils’ specific needs and dispositions and provided them with a flexible and suitable range of activities. They used individual and group teaching effectively and encouraged activity in lessons to match the variety of learning needs. The arrangements for meeting the needs of pupils with additional support needs were very good. Teachers identified pupils quickly who required additional help. The support for learning teacher provided very effective support for individuals and groups of pupils requiring additional help. She met with the headteacher and teachers on a regular basis to discuss the needs of pupils and provided staff with appropriate resources for pupils. Additional support needs assistants and classroom assistants provided high quality support to pupils to ensure they made good progress in their learning. Pupils with a Record of Needs had individualised educational programmes with appropriate learning targets which were shared with parents or guardians. Very effective consultation took place between teachers and visiting specialists such as the speech therapist.

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.

St Boswells Primary School provided a welcoming, caring and inclusive learning environment in which pupils were encouraged and supported to work hard and show respect and tolerance for each other. Pupils enjoyed their education and were proud of the school. Teaching was of a consistently good standard across the school and the quality of pupils’ learning experiences and their individual progress were good. Staff were committed to continuous improvement to meet the challenges of new developments. Teachers expected and encouraged pupils to achieve to the best of their abilities. They quickly identified and worked flexibly to help those pupils who needed more support in their learning. The introduction of interactive teaching styles, focused assessments and personal learning plans were effective in involving pupils in their learning. Staff were highly supportive of each other and strongly committed to ongoing improvement in learning and teaching. The school had worked hard and with some success to improve attainment and the pace of progress for all pupils in English language and mathematics. It was well placed to ensure the planned strategies for raising attainment continued to be implemented successfully and, overall, its capacity for continued improvement was high.

The headteacher provided very good leadership and role model in teaching to staff. She had established very successfully a strong sense of school community and was highly respected by pupils, staff, parents and the community. She had led the staff effectively in the introduction of new teaching styles and approaches to assessment. She was ably supported by the principal teacher who carried out her responsibilities for aspects of the curriculum and supporting staff in their continuing professional development very well. Together the headteacher and principal teacher formed an effective senior management team. Self-evaluation procedures were good. The school had a coherent and consistent approach to quality assurance and school improvement. The headteacher carefully monitored the quality of teachers’ forward plans and provided staff with useful feedback. More focused classroom visits would further improve the monitoring of continuity and depth in learning. The senior management team were systematic in monitoring and recording pupils’ progress and tracking their attainment. In planning for improvement, they had given high priority to pupils’ learning.

What happens next?

As a result of the high performance, the strong record of improvement and the very effective leadership of this school, HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this inspection. 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.

Kate F Cherry
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 and Lifelong Learning, 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, T1, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD or by telephoning 0131 244 8073. 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 2006w

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