Humbie Primary School
East Lothian Council
12 June 2007
Contents
Page
1. Background
1
2. Key strengths
1
3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?
2
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
2
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
4
6. How good is the environment for learning?
4
7. Leading and improving the school
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Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
8
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
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How can you contact us?
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1. Background
Humbie Primary School was inspected in March 2007 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 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 representatives of the parent-teacher association (PTA), members of
the local community and parents 1.
The school serves the village of Humbie and the surrounding rural area. At the time of
the inspection the roll was 26, including nine children in the nursery class. The
proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was well below the national
average. Pupils’ attendance was in line with the national average.
The work of the nursery class was not included in this inspection.
2. Key strengths
HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths.
•
The broad and well balanced curriculum, including the development of pupils’
wider achievements.
•
The continuity in learning and teaching approaches established between
nursery and P1 to P3.
•
The commitment of staff and pupils to environmental and health issues.
•
Strong partnerships with parents and the local community.
•
The effective start made by the headteacher to the further improvement of the
school.
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Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers, residential care staff and
carers who are relatives or friends.
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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 normally
appears in an Appendix 2. However, where there were fewer than five respondees in
each group, in order to maintain confidentiality, the analysis is not provided.
HM Inspectors also interviewed staff, parents and pupils during the inspection. The
following is an analysis of the views expressed by staff, parents and pupils.
Parents were very positive about almost all aspects of the life and work of the school.
All felt welcome in the school and thought the school was held in high regard by the
local community. They appreciated the efforts made by staff to involve their children
in a wide range of activities, particularly through links with other small schools. A few
would have liked more information about their children’s strengths and weaknesses.
Pupils enjoyed taking part in the wide range of activities offered to them. They thought
the school helped them to keep safe and healthy, and that they had a say in improving
the school. All teaching and auxiliary staff enjoyed working in the school. They were
very positive about the school’s good relationships with the local community and saw
the attention given to pupils’ care and welfare of pupils as a strength.
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The school provided a very good, broad and well balanced curriculum. Staff had used
available flexibility time to increase the time allocated to English language,
mathematics and physical education, and to introduce ‘discovery zones’ to the P1 to P3
classroom. These areas enabled the youngest pupils to be actively involved in their
learning by asking questions, experimenting with and exploring materials, and
individually and collectively finding information and solving problems. Visiting
specialist teachers made a very positive contribution to the development of pupils’
skills in art, music and physical education. Staff placed a strong emphasis on health
education and environmental issues. Pupils were developing their awareness of how to
keep themselves safe, fit and healthy. They participated enthusiastically in two hours
of physical activity each week and enjoyed team games and energetic play during
breaks. Learning opportunities related to education for citizenship through enterprise
and Eco School initiatives were firmly embedded in the curriculum. Pupils were
confident in using a range of information and communications technology (ICT). The
quality of teaching was good overall. At the early stages, there were many very good
examples of imaginative and innovative lessons. Teachers at this stage taught
effectively to the whole class and ensured that individual pupils were targeted and
enabled to participate in activities well suited to their particular stage of development.
Across the school, interactions between teachers and pupils were positive and teachers’
explanations and directions were clear. Teachers shared the content of lessons with
pupils but did not consistently review what had been learned. They had begun to share
learning intentions with pupils but did not yet make these sufficiently explicit. At
times, in the P4-P6 classroom, the pace of lessons was too slow and the activities not
sufficiently challenging to meet the needs of pupils. Homework across the school was
varied, set regularly and marked.
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Staff had established a constructive and positive learning environment. Pupils
throughout the school, but particularly at the early stages, were motivated, cooperative
and engaged actively in their learning. They shared eagerly in active number and
language games, and learned about building shelters in the garden area. As a whole
school, pupils enjoyed singing in tune and maintained the rhythm well. They had
bought a calf as part of a business partnership initiative and had developed a blog to
respond to the many enquiries about the calf. They took good account of the needs of
others and collaborated well with older or younger pupils on small group activities.
Pupils had responsibility for many aspects of their work, particularly in their enterprise
activities, but older pupils were capable of taking greater responsibility for their own
learning and being more independent. Pupils had many very good opportunities to
participate in a wide range of activities involving the local community and other small
schools.
The school took very good steps to enhance pupils’ wider interests and achievements.
All pupils were members of a committee, including the pupil council, the Eco
committee and the health promoting group. Pupils contributed ideas about the life and
work of the school and played a central role in making decisions about, and
implementing, a range of school improvements. They were learning more about health,
citizenship and enterprise and developing relevant skills. Pupils were keenly interested
in environmental issues and worked hard on a range of activities to maintain and
improve their own surroundings. The school had achieved Eco School status and been
awarded two green flags. Almost all pupils attended the after-school club. They
participated enthusiastically in a range of educational, social, musical and sporting
activities organised within and beyond the local community. Pupils were very
conscious of the needs of children and communities in Africa and raised considerable
funds for selected charities at home.
English language
Overall, the quality of attainment in English language was good. Pupils for whom
English was an additional language were making very good progress in learning and
using spoken and written English in the classroom. At all stages, pupils talked
confidently to their peers and to adults, but were less skilled in taking turns and in
listening and talking in groups. Almost all pupils enjoyed reading and spoke well
about their favourite books and authors. They read aloud fluently and with
understanding, and were developing skills in exploring meaning. They had learned
various Scottish poems which they enjoyed and recited with confidence. Although
pupils wrote for a range of purposes, their skills in finding and using information from
several sources, including the Internet were not sufficiently well developed.
Mathematics
The quality of attainment in mathematics was good, overall. Pupils could read and
interpret information presented in simple graphs but had too little experience of
collecting and presenting data, and of using ICT for handling and displaying
information. The youngest pupils had a sound understanding of basic number. At all
stages, pupils were developing good skills in mental calculation but at times their recall
of number bonds and tables was unsure. Pupils worked well on written tasks and
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presented their work neatly. They had a good understanding of simple fractions and
were able to recognise equivalences. Most pupils had developed a good knowledge of
appropriate two- and three-dimensional shapes, and their properties. Pupils were
familiar with simple problem solving strategies and were making steady progress in
developing appropriate skills.
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
The school’s arrangements to meet pupils’ differing needs were good. Teachers
matched most activities, tasks and resources well to the individual needs of pupils. The
headteacher had very recently introduced an improved system to track pupils’ progress
over time. Teachers had begun to work with pupils to help them to evaluate their own
work and that of others. Pupils were at a very early stage of evaluating their own
progress towards the achievement of their targets. Higher achieving pupils were not
consistently challenged. Pupils with additional needs were very well supported by staff
and by the visiting specialist teacher of support for learning. The school had
established very good links with a range of outside agencies and schools to support
individual pupils and their families. Classroom assistants provided very good support
for individual pupils. This was particularly noteworthy at the early stages as groups of
pupils worked on practical activities in the classroom and outside.
6. How good is the environment for learning?
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Aspect
Comment
Pastoral care
The quality of pastoral care was excellent. Pupils were known
very well by all members of staff who took very good account of
their emotional, personal and social needs. The school was a
close and supportive community. Appropriate child protection,
anti-bullying, anti-racist and safe use of the Internet policies
were in place and known by staff. Pupils had daily access to
drinking water and fresh fruit. The development of a healthy
lifestyle was a priority and the school was working towards the
achievement of Health Promoting School status. Pupils were
aware of what to do to keep themselves healthy and were
encouraged to be energetic during playtimes. Playground games
such as hockey were played enthusiastically by pupils of all
ages. Pupils and their families who spoke English as an
additional language were welcomed warmly.
Aspect
Comment
Quality of
accommodation
and facilities
The school building provided good accommodation for pupils
and staff. The building was secure, in good condition and access
for disabled users was very good. Classrooms were spacious
and pupils’ work was displayed attractively. Office, staff and
storage accommodation were limited. The general purposes
room was used flexibly for lunches, meetings, assemblies and
games. Staff used the adjacent village hall for physical
education. The outdoor area, but particularly the large climbing
frame in the woodland garden, provided a stimulating and
challenging play space for all pupils. An area beyond the
playground had been acquired recently and was to be developed
as a wildlife garden. The outdoor area was used extensively by
the nursery class and school as a very good additional space for
learning.
Climate and
relationships,
expectations
and promoting
achievement
and equality
The school provided a welcoming environment. Pupils
were proud of their school and identified closely with
it. The morale of staff and pupils was high. Pupils were well
behaved and courteous. Staff used praise effectively to
encourage and motivate pupils but their expectations of pupils’
learning were not consistently high. Pupils’ activities and
achievements were recorded in displays of photographs and
celebrated at assemblies. There were regular opportunities for
religious observance. The school had established a strong sense
of equality and fairness and promoted a range of opportunities
for pupils to become aware of the needs of children in different
cultural settings. Pupils had developed links with communities
in Uganda and South Africa. They had raised funds for selected
local charities and had collected items to be sent to help families
in underdeveloped countries.
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Aspect
Comment
Partnership
with parents
and the
community
Partnership with parents and the local community were
excellent. The School Board and PTA were very supportive of
the school. Parents and members of the wider community were
keen to attend the regular curricular and social events planned by
staff and pupils. The school was a focal point of community
life. Communication with parents was very good. Reports to
parents provided helpful information about their child’s
attainment. Parents were very well informed about the health
education programme, including approaches to sensitive issues
and to drugs awareness. The headteacher had developed a range
of appropriate curriculum links with other small schools in the
area. She made extensive use of resources within the local and
wider environment of the school to enhance learning
opportunities for pupils. Members of the local community
contributed their skills and knowledge willingly to various
school initiatives. A local farmer, as the school’s business
partner, looked after the school calf. Pupils dealt with payment
procedures. Parents had actively supported staff and pupils in
the development of the playground, shed and garden areas.
Liaison with the nursery class was of a high quality. The school
had a number of very positive links with Ross High School.
7. Leading and improving the school
Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.
Overall, Humbie Primary School provided a very good quality of education for pupils.
The school offered a supportive and inclusive learning environment in which standards
of teaching were good overall and often very good. Pupils were well behaved and had
positive attitudes to their learning. There was room for greater challenge for some
pupils and for improvement in the quality of attainment in English language and
mathematics.
The headteacher provided good leadership. During her brief term of six months in
post, there had been significant changes in staffing. Despite a teaching commitment,
she had worked alongside staff in the school and nursery, and had a high profile within
the local community. She was highly regarded by parents and pupils, and staff found
her approachable and helpful. She had built appropriately on the school’s existing
strengths and used her personal and professional skills to support new staff well. She
had correctly identified a number of areas for improvement and was addressing these
with the support of staff. The recently appointed principal teacher provided good
support for the headteacher and staff. She was class committed, had a clear remit and
was working to ensure that identified tasks were completed on time. There was a
commendable level of teamwork among staff who were involved closely in initiatives
and planned improvements to policies and practice. Self-evaluation was good.
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Parents, through the School Board, were consulted about changes to policy statements
and invited to respond to regular questionnaires about the quality of the school’s
provision. The headteacher was taking useful steps to improve evaluation of aspects of
the work of the school. All staff had participated in an annual review and welcomed
the opportunities this provided to discuss their work. They had many relevant
opportunities to participate in development activity. Very good progress was being
made towards the full implementation of the current school development plan. The
school was very well placed to build on its many strengths and improve further the
quality of its provision for pupils.
Main points for action
The school and education authority should take action to improve learning and
meeting needs. In doing so they should take account of the need to:
•
extend the existing good practice in learning and teaching at the early stages
and involve older pupils in more active and challenging learning; and
•
further improve the quality of attainment in English language and
mathematics.
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.
Christine Roebuck
HM Inspector
12 June 2007
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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.
How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
Structure of the curriculum
The teaching process
Pupils’ learning experiences
Pupils’ attainment in English language
Pupils’ attainment in mathematics
How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
Meeting pupils’ needs
How good is the environment for learning?
Pastoral care
Accommodation and facilities
Climate and relationships
Expectations and promoting achievement
Equality and fairness
Partnership with parents, the School
Board, and the community
Leading and improving the school
Leadership of the headteacher
Self-evaluation
very good
good
good
good
good
good
excellent
good
very good
good
very good
excellent
good
good
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by
inspectors:
excellent
very good
good
adequate
weak
unsatisfactory
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outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
Appendix 2
Summary of questionnaire responses
Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires
are listed below. Where any one group had five or less respondees then, in order to
maintain confidentiality, the analysis is not provided.
What parents thought the school did
well
What parents think the school
could do better
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Encouraged their child to work to
the best of her/his ability.
Provided helpful information about
their child’s progress.
Showed care and concern for their
child’s welfare.
Responded quickly to any issues
they raised.
Parents’ evenings.
Shared information about the
school’s priorities.
There were no significant issues.
What pupils thought the school did
well
What pupils think the school could
do better
•
•
•
•
•
•
Expected them to work hard.
Helped them keep safe and healthy.
Treated them fairly.
Encouraged good behaviour.
Helped them if they were having
difficulty.
• Told them when they had done
something well.
• Explained how to improve their
work.
• Checked their homework.
There were no significant issues.
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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 Community 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, Denholm House, Almondvale Business
Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. or by telephoning 01506 600384.
Copies are also available on our website www.hmie.gov.uk.
HMIE Feedback and Complaints Procedure
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of primary inspections, you should write in
the first instance to Chris McIlroy, HMCI,at the above address.
If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to our
Complaints Manager, HMIE Business Management Unit, Second Floor, Denholm
House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston, EH54 6GA. You
can also e-mail HMIEComplaints@hmie.gsi.gov.uk. A copy of our complaints
procedure is available from this office, by telephoning 01506 600200 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
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