Eyemouth Primary School
Scottish Borders Council
17 October 2006
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 supported?
4
6. How good is the environment for learning?
5
7. Improving the school
6
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
8
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
9
How can you contact us?
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1. Background
Eyemouth Primary School was inspected in May and June 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-teacher association (PTA), and a group
of parents 1.
The inspection team also evaluated aspects of the school’s progress in implementing
national recommendations related to improving aspects of school meals provision.
The school serves the town of Eyemouth, the village of Burnmouth and the surrounding
area. At the time of the inspection the roll was 344, including 48 children in the
nursery class. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was in
line with the national average. Pupils’ attendance was above 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 headteacher’s focus on ensuring high quality learning and teaching.
•
Staff commitment to ensuring pupils’ emotional and physical welfare.
•
Teamwork amongst promoted and teaching staff in improving the school’s
curriculum and evaluating the quality of learning and teaching.
•
Partnership with parents and their high levels of involvement in their children’s
education.
1
Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers, residential care staff and
carers who are relatives or friends
1
3. What are the views of parents, 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 responses to the questionnaires appears
in Appendix 2.
Parents, pupils and staff were very positive about the school. Parents had confidence in
the school and thought staff communicated with them very well. Almost all pupils
enjoyed being at the school. They thought that behaviour was overall good and they
did not regard bullying as a serious problem in the school. However, around a third of
pupils felt that behaviour of a minority of pupils, particularly in the playground, could
be improved. Almost all staff enjoyed working in the school and felt that pupils had a
positive attitude to their work. They thought that pupils were well behaved overall but
that a minority of pupils sometimes did not behave well enough. They felt that
occasional instances of bullying were well handled, but that not all staff were
sufficiently consistent in implementing the school’s behaviour code. Almost all staff
thought the school was well led and that senior managers operated effectively as a
team.
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The school’s curriculum was broad and balanced and of very good quality. Additional
time allocated to English language, mathematics and health had been well used to
improve standards. Specialist teachers of art and design, music and physical education
made significant and effective contributions to pupils’ learning experiences. However,
pupils usually only had one session of physical education each week. The school had
good arrangements to ensure progressive learning experiences for pupils across the
curriculum. In particular, there were very well planned programmes for personal and
social development and health, including nutrition. Teachers had begun to build
suitable enterprise activities into each class programme of work. The quality of
teaching was good. Amongst most teachers there was a high degree of consistency in
the use of effective techniques such as sharing lesson objectives with pupils, recapping
main points and using questions skilfully to involve pupils and assess their progress.
Teachers employed interactive whiteboards very well to enhance lessons. They used
praise well to build up confidence and encouraged pupils to explain reasons for
answers. At all stages, teachers had suitable arrangements for homework but there was
scope for more variety and interest in the work set.
Most pupils were well motivated and worked purposefully and at an appropriate pace in
lessons. A few pupils lacked concentration but support staff were effective in helping
them stay focused on set tasks. Throughout the school, pupils had regular opportunities
to work together in pairs and groups in planned tasks and this resulted in their skills in
collaborative working being developed very well. At all stages, pupils used personal
learning planners regularly to chart their progress towards agreed learning targets and
to note how to make further improvement. This was beginning to help them take
responsibility for their own learning. At the early stages, pupils’ learning was
reinforced effectively through some good use of planned play activities. Pupils’ skills
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in information and communications technology (ICT) developed very well from P1 to
P7 through a structured programme. However, learning tasks across the curriculum did
not make use of these skills often enough to promote independent learning.
At all stages, pupils built up their confidence and learned to collaborate and contribute
through participating in a wide range of planned activities. Many pupils participated
enthusiastically and with some local success in a range of sports including badminton,
netball, football, rugby and athletics. School excursions, including a residential week
for P7 pupils, gave pupils new challenges and broadened their experience. Pupils’
skills in active citizenship were developing well through class enterprise activities and
raising money for charity and for the PTA, as in a recent sponsored walk round the
town. The pupil council had been active in suggesting a number of improvements to
the school, and the school Eco Committee had promoted a range of initiatives including
recycling. Older pupils developed their sense of responsibility through taking on a
number of appropriate duties to help the smooth running of the school. They also
enjoyed acting as buddies for younger pupils. Pupils’ self-esteem and confidence was
enhanced by the recognition they received at school assemblies for a range of
achievements.
English language
The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was good. In recent
years, attainment levels had shown steady improvement. Most pupils were achieving
appropriate national levels of attainment in listening, talking, reading and writing. A
few pupils were achieving these levels earlier than might normally be expected. Pupils
who had not attained appropriate national levels were making good progress towards
agreed learning targets. In P1 and P2, pupils were making good progress in developing
their literacy skills. Across the school, most pupils listened attentively to instructions
and explanations and had a good recall of information. From P4 to P7, however, group
discussion skills were not sufficiently well developed. Pupils read fluently with good
understanding and, across all stages, pupils read widely for pleasure. However, shared
reading in class was not always challenging enough. Pupils benefited from an
increased emphasis on the development of their writing skills. The quality of their
writing was improving and they made effective use of descriptive language. Across the
school, standards of presentation were too variable.
Mathematics
Overall, the quality of attainment in mathematics was good. Levels of attainment had
improved over the last three years and most pupils attained appropriate national levels.
Around a third of pupils from P2 to P7 attained these levels earlier than might normally
be expected. Pupils with additional support needs were making good progress towards
appropriate targets. At all stages, pupils were able to interpret graphs well but some
had not fully developed skills in collecting and analysing information. At the early
stages, pupils were making good progress in their understanding of number and
counting. From P3 to P7, almost all pupils were confident and quick in mental
calculation and could explain clearly the methods they used to achieve their answers.
P6 and P7 pupils had a sound knowledge of the relationship between decimals and
fractions. Pupils from P4 to P7 estimated length accurately and had a good
understanding of symmetry and the properties of three dimensional shapes. At all
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stages, a majority of pupils demonstrated very good skills in problem solving.
However, pupils’ knowledge of problem solving strategies varied too much from class
to class.
5. How well are pupils supported?
Pastoral care was of very good quality. Staff showed commitment to ensuring pupils'
emotional and physical well being. Pupils found them caring and approachable. All staff
were fully trained in the authority’s arrangements for child protection. They dealt well with
any instances of misbehaviour, including occasional bullying. The school had a very
helpful computerised system which helped staff monitor pupils’ behaviour and identify any
trends. Staff ensured that pupils were appropriately informed about hygiene, drugs and
personal relationships. They put a wide range of measures in place to develop pupils’
understanding of health and well being. These included the promotion of healthy eating in
the school breakfast club, tuck shop and at school lunches, encouragement for pupils to eat
fruit, and a well established routine of all pupils brushing their teeth after lunch. The
school had effective and well planned arrangements to support pupils transferring from the
nursery class into P1 and from P7 to Eyemouth High School.
Overall, teachers met the learning needs of pupils well, using appropriate whole class,
group and individual learning approaches. They made effective use of attainment
groups and well judged activities to ensure that most pupils made good progress.
Personal learning planning was well used to involve pupils in setting their own learning
targets. However, higher attaining pupils were insufficiently challenged by some tasks.
Pupils with additional support needs were identified accurately and early, and support
to meet their needs was well targeted. They were given appropriate assistance to
enable them to participate fully in the work of their classes. The recently appointed
learning support teacher had begun to coordinate support for learning effectively. She
met regularly with class teachers to discuss the differing learning needs of pupils and
prepared individualised programmes for pupils as needed. Additional needs assistants
and other support staff worked very well with teachers on a planned basis to support
individuals and groups experiencing learning or behaviour difficulties. Visiting
teachers, including specialists in behaviour support and English as an additional
language, enhanced the level of support given to pupils.
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6. How good is the environment for learning?
Aspect
Comment
Quality of
accommodation
and facilities
The school’s accommodation was of good quality. The
building and grounds were very well maintained and
displays of pupils’ work enhanced the learning environment.
The community wing, which was separate from the main
building, provided valuable additional space and was very
well used for a variety of purposes including lessons in ICT,
art and design, and music. It also provided P7 pupils with
their own common room. Appropriate security
arrangements were in place. Not all areas of the building
were accessible to disabled users.
Climate and
relationships,
expectations
and promoting
achievement
and equality
The school had a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
Relationships between and amongst staff and pupils were
positive and morale was high. Pupils were overall polite
and well behaved. Staff dealt well with occasional instances
of indiscipline. They had identified the need for staff
development to ensure consistency in their approaches to
promoting positive behaviour. Most pupils responded very
well to the high expectations of behaviour and performance
set by almost all staff. Staff celebrated pupils’ achievements
appropriately. The involvement of pupils in personal
learning planning was gradually encouraging them to have
higher expectations of themselves. There was a strong sense
of equality and fairness evident in the work of the school.
Staff actively promoted an inclusive approach to involving
pupils in all aspects of school activity. However, the school
had yet to develop robust approaches to developing pupils’
understanding of issues concerning religious, cultural and
racial diversity. Members of the local chaplaincy team
regularly contributed to weekly assemblies which provided
suitable opportunities for religious observance.
5
Aspect
Comment
Partnership
with parents
and the
community
The school had very productive relationships with parents
and the wider community. Parents were kept very well
informed about the work of the school through regular high
quality newsletters and reports. The school actively
supported their involvement in the personal learning
planning process and valued parents’ comments on their
children’s progress. Parents had been well consulted over a
range of issues, including their views on race equality and
on potentially sensitive aspects of health education. The
School Board was also kept fully informed and had provided
effective support on several issues, including road safety
measures and school accommodation. The PTA’s fund
raising successes had played an important part in improving
the school’s ICT resources. Parent helpers and members of
the community worked regularly in several classes. The
school’s strong links with the local community included
raising money for local charities and welcoming members of
the community to school events.
7. Improving the school
Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.
Eyemouth Primary School gave pupils well planned learning experiences within a friendly
and supportive atmosphere. Teachers had collaborated very well to agree progressive
learning experiences for pupils across the curriculum. They also shared a high level of
consistency in applying good practice in learning and teaching. Almost all pupils
responded very well to staff’s high expectations of behaviour and attitude to their work.
Staff put a high priority on communicating with parents and providing all pupils with a high
quality of care and welfare. Overall levels of attainment had shown clear improvement
over recent years.
The headteacher provided leadership of very high quality. She had a clear vision for the
development of the school and had communicated this well to staff and parents, amongst
whom she was highly respected. She had maintained a strong focus on introducing high
quality approaches to learning and teaching and had been largely successful in establishing
these amongst almost all teaching staff. She had gained staff support and promoted team
working to take forward a wide range of well-judged priorities for improvement. She was
very well supported by the depute headteacher who played an important role in many areas
of the school’s work and had helped strengthen teamwork amongst staff. Principal teachers
had been very effective in particular areas including the development of curricular
programmes and learning and teaching approaches. Overall, the corporate management of
the school was very good. The management team played a key role in the school’s very
well developed arrangements for self evaluation. Senior managers undertook a systematic
programme of lesson observations and gave insightful and helpful feedback on the quality
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of learning and teaching. Principal teachers led groups of staff in examining samples of
pupils’ work and identifying areas for improvement. Staff had observed each other’s
teaching and this process was about to be extended and made more systematic. Staff had
also collaborated in using quality indicators developed nationally to evaluate the school’s
performance and identify priorities for improvement. The school’s capacity for continued
improvement was very high.
Main points for action
The school and education authority should continue to provide high quality and
improving education. In doing so, they should take account of the need to:
•
continue to raise levels of attainment in English language and mathematics;
and
•
further develop independence and appropriate challenge in pupils’ learning,
including pupils’ use of information and communications technology.
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.
Grant Mathison
HM Inspector
17 October 2006
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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
very good
good
good
good
good
How well are pupils supported?
Pastoral care
Meeting pupils’ needs
very good
good
How good is the environment for learning?
Accommodation and facilities
Climate and relationships
Expectations and promoting achievement
Equality and fairness
Partnership with parents, the School
Board, and the community
good
very good
good
good
very good
Improving the school
Leadership
Effectiveness and deployment of staff with
additional responsibilities
Self-evaluation
very good
very good
very good
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by
inspectors:
excellent
very good
good
adequate
weak
unsatisfactory
8
excellent
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.
What parents thought the school did
well
What parents think the school
could do better
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Staff made parents welcome and
consulted them appropriately.
Teachers set high standards for
pupils’ attainment.
School reports and parents’
evenings were helpful and
informative.
Children enjoyed the school and
were treated fairly.
Staff showed concern for care and
welfare of children.
The school was well led.
There were no significant issues.
What pupils thought the school did
well
What pupils think the school could
do better
•
•
They enjoyed school and had a say
in suggesting improvements.
• Teachers explained things clearly
and let them know when they had
done something well.
• Teachers expected them to work
hard and let them know how their
learning could be improved.
• Pupils were treated fairly and the
school helped keep them safe and
healthy.
Around a third thought the
behaviour of pupils could be
improved.
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What staff thought the school did
well
What staff think the school could
do better
•
•
•
•
•
•
10
They liked working in the school
and felt pupils were enthusiastic.
The school promoted good
relations with the local community.
Teachers set high standards for
pupils’ attainment.
Staff showed concern for the care
and welfare of pupils.
The school was well led and senior
managers operated effectively as a
team.
Around a third felt that
indiscipline could be dealt with
more effectively and that
standards set for pupils’
behaviour could be upheld more
consistently.
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, 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.
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 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, 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
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