Evie Primary School
and Nursery Class
Orkney Islands Council
13 May 2008
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?
5
7. Leading and improving the school
7
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
9
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
10
Appendix 3 Good Practice
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How can you contact us?
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1. Background
Evie Primary School and Nursery Class were inspected in February 2008 as part of a
national sample of primary and nursery education. The inspection covered key aspects
of the work of the school at all stages. It evaluated nursery children’s and 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 the quality of the children’s experience in the nursery, pupils’
work and interviewed groups of pupils, including the pupil council, and staff.
Members of the inspection team also met the chairperson of the Parent Council and
groups of parents1.
The school serves the communities of Evie, Costa and Rendall. At the time of the
inspection the roll was 50, including 12 children in the nursery class. At the time of the
inspection the headteacher had been in post for five months. As part of the Council’s
shared leadership initiative, he was also headteacher of the nearby Firth Primary
School. 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
HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths:
•
Confident and polite pupils who were enthusiastic about their learning.
•
Productive partnerships with parents.
•
Commitment of staff towards improving the work of the school.
•
The positive start made by the headteacher and his success in developing staff
teamwork and a positive school ethos.
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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
appears in Appendix 2.
Parents, pupils and staff were positive about almost all aspects of the nursery class and
school’s work. Parents of nursery children thought the staff made them feel welcome.
They felt children enjoyed being at nursery and found the activities stimulating and
challenging. Parents of primary pupils thought the school had a good reputation in the
community. They felt welcome within the school and thought staff showed care and
concern for their children. Pupils thought teachers knew them well and helped to keep
them safe and healthy. They enjoyed being at school and felt well looked after. Staff
enjoyed working in the school and thought they had good opportunities to be involved
in decision making. They believed the school was well led.
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The overall quality of the curriculum was adequate. Teachers recognised the need to
review programmes to ensure they were sufficiently challenging and built appropriately
on pupils’ prior knowledge. Staff in the nursery class provided children with a broad
and balanced curriculum. Children benefited from a good range of play experiences in
the key areas of learning and development. At the primary stages, staff had made a
start in P1 and P2 to developing continuity in pupils’ learning from nursery, for
example by providing opportunities for pupils to be active in the learning through play.
Across the primary stages, the school provided pupils with a broad curriculum which
enabled them to develop a good range of skills. The curriculum was enhanced by
contributions from visiting specialist teachers. Staff were making progress towards
providing two hours of physical education each week, in line with national
recommendations. The school had appropriate arrangements in place for pupils at P7
transferring to Stromness Academy. The quality of teaching was adequate. In the
nursery class, staff used praise well to encourage children’s efforts and achievements
and to build confidence and self-esteem. They did not consistently use questioning and
dialogue to extend children’s learning. Across the primary stages, teachers created a
positive learning environment. They gave clear explanations and instructions and made
effective use of praise to encourage pupils. In most lessons, teachers used a range of
approaches to promote pupils’ learning. Teachers made limited use of information and
communications technology (ICT) to enhance learning across the curriculum. In the
most successful lessons observed, teachers shared the purposes of the lesson with
pupils and used questioning well to encourage their thinking. However, this practice
was not consistent across the school. Activities were not always challenging enough
and pupils did not have sufficient opportunities to take responsibility for their learning.
The quality of learners’ experiences was adequate. In the nursery class, children were
learning to use ICT, including using the digital camera to record play activities. Most
children took part in role play, enjoyed singing and were developing their skills in
painting and gluing activities. They did not have sufficient opportunities to be creative
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and express their own ideas. Children were developing a good range of physical skills
both indoors and outdoors. Across the primary stages, almost all pupils were motivated
and keen to learn. Most pupils concentrated well when completing tasks. They felt
valued and had regular opportunities to express their views and opinions. When given
the opportunity, pupils worked well together in small groups and pairs. For example,
pupils at P6/P7 collaborated well when discussing the possible consequences of
substance misuse. Pupils responded positively to opportunities to be creative when
using instruments during music activities. Pupils at P3/P4/P5 successfully used a range
of percussion instruments to accompany songs related to their environmental studies
topic. However, pupils were not consistently actively engaged in their own learning, or
sufficiently aware of how to improve their own work.
The school took some good steps to promote pupils’ wider achievements. Children in
the nursery class were happy and confident. They formed good relationships with each
other. They were aware of nursery routines and were developing independence in
personal tasks, including dressing themselves and washing their hands. At the primary
stages, some pupils responded enthusiastically to increased opportunities to be involved
in decision making through their involvement in the pupil council. Pupils were
developing responsible attitudes to each other and the environment. Their involvement
in environmental developments had resulted in the school achieving an Eco-Schools
Scotland silver award. Pupils learned about the needs of others through a range of
charity work. For example, pupils had recently raised funds to support sustainable
farming in Africa. Pupils had achieved success in a range of community activities,
including competitions and sporting events. Pupils at all stages were actively involved
in enterprise education activities and had achieved a gold award for their achievements.
Pupils at P5/P6/P7 developed their personal and social skills by taking part in a
residential experience.
English language
Children in the nursery class were making adequate progress in the development of
communication and language skills. Overall, they needed more support from staff to talk
and listen without being distracted by others. A few children showed a keen interest in
books and enjoyed listening to stories being read by an adult. Children enjoyed mark
making in the writing area. Almost all children could recognise their name in print and a
few could write it. They needed more opportunities to extend their skills in early reading
and writing through play. At the primary stages, the overall quality of pupils’ attainment in
English language was adequate. The school’s data on pupils’ attainment was generally
unreliable. For this reason, it was not possible to provide an indication of trends in pupils’
attainment over time. Most pupils achieved appropriate national levels of attainment in
listening, talking, reading and writing. Pupils who required support with aspects of English
language were making appropriate progress. Pupils were articulate and spoke confidently.
Almost all listened attentively to adults and responded well to instructions. They were less
skilled when listening and talking to each other in groups. Across the school, pupils read
fluently, often with good expression. At P7, pupils talked confidently about favourite
authors and features of the books they had read. They were less secure in analysing an
author’s use of language. At all stages, pupils wrote for different purposes, at times in
other curricular contexts. For example, pupils at P7 wrote informative booklets about
animals, for pupils at the early stages. Pupils were not consistently given opportunities to
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write for a sufficient range of purposes and needed more experience of writing extended
pieces of work. The standard of handwriting and the presentation of work was variable.
Mathematics
Children in the nursery class were making good progress in early mathematics. They were
learning to sort, match and make comparisons. They confidently counted and measured
items during activities such as baking pancakes. Across the primary classes, the overall
quality of pupils’ attainment in mathematics was adequate. The school’s data on attainment
was generally unreliable. For this reason, it was not possible to provide an indication of
trends in pupils’ attainment over time. Almost all pupils at P3 and P4, and the majority at
P6 and P7 achieved appropriate national levels of attainment in key aspects of mathematics.
Pupils at the early stages achieved these levels earlier than might normally be expected.
Pupils’ progress through their coursework was too slow at some stages of the school.
Pupils who experienced difficulty with aspects of mathematics were making steady
progress. The school recognised the need to improve attainment through the introduction
of a progressive programme for all aspects of mathematics. Pupils at all stages were able to
organise and interpret information from graphs. They did not make effective use of
computers to handle information. The majority of pupils were able to perform written
calculations accurately. They were less skilled in making mental calculations. Across the
school, pupils’ skills in applying mathematical skills in practical contexts, for example in
tasks involving measurement, were not sufficiently well developed. At the early and
middle stages, pupils had a good knowledge of shape, position and movement. Pupils’
ability to solve problems was not consistently strong.
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
Overall, the school’s arrangements for meeting pupils’ learning needs were weak. In
the nursery class, staff knew the children well. They made good use of assessment
information to identify next steps in learning for groups and individuals. However,
they were not always responsive to children’s interests and activities sometimes lacked
stimulation and challenge. Across the primary stages, teachers made some appropriate
use of whole-class, group and individual teaching approaches which helped meet
pupils’ learning needs. In the most successful lessons, tasks and activities were well
matched to the learning needs of all pupils. This effective practice was not consistent
across the school. Activities did not always take appropriate account of pupils’ prior
learning or provide sufficient challenge for higher attaining pupils. The school had
appropriate systems in place to identify pupils who required additional support with
their learning. The support for learning teacher and support staff provided assistance to
groups of pupils. However, the coordination of additional support for learning was not
effective. One consequence was that some pupils did not have appropriate
individualised educational programmes in place.
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6. How good is the environment for learning?
Aspect
Comment
Care, welfare
and
development
Staff had put very good arrangements in place for ensuring the
care and welfare of pupils. All staff knew the pupils well and
were sensitive to their personal, social and emotional needs.
Staff had a sound knowledge and understanding of the
authority’s arrangements for child protection. The school
monitored attendance carefully. Pupils had access to a
suggestion box to pass on any concerns they might have. They
felt safe and were confident staff would listen to them and deal
appropriately with any concerns. Pupils spoke confidently about
the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle. New procedures
for dealing more effectively with instances of misbehaviour or
bullying were having a positive impact.
Management
and use of
resources and
space for
learning
The overall management and use of resources and space for
learning was adequate. Staff had made good use of
available space within the school. A range of pupils’ work
was displayed to good effect around the school to enhance
the learning environment. The school had started to update
some resources to support learning and teaching, including
purchasing new books for the school library. Arrangements
for school lunches were well organised. Pupils made good
use of a large playground and garden area. For example,
pupils grew their own vegetables and used them to make
soup. Access to the school building for those with restricted
mobility was only possible for the ground floor. Aspects of
building security arrangements required improvement.
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6
Aspect
Comment
Climate and
relationships,
expectations
and promoting
achievement
and equality
and fairness
Pupils and staff had a strong sense of pride and identity in
the school. Staff felt supported and valued. All staff were
committed to helping the school to improve and were
involved in helpful professional discussions about teaching
and learning. This had not yet brought any direct
improvements to pupils’ experiences. Relationships
between staff and pupils were positive. Across the primary
stages, pupils were polite, friendly and well behaved.
Pupils’ successes and achievements were celebrated
regularly, including on the school website and in local
newspapers. Expectations of pupils’ levels of attainment
were not always appropriate. There was a strong sense of
equality and fairness in the school. The school promoted
awareness of the cultures and religions of other countries
through assemblies and the programme in religious and
moral education. Pupils had regular opportunities to take
part in religious observance. The chaplain gave positive
support to the life of the school, including assemblies.
The school’s
success in
involving
parents, carers
and families
The school’s links with parents and the wider community
were very good. Parents were positive about the work of
the school and felt welcome. The Parent Council provided
valuable support to the school and was actively involved in
communicating to parents through newsletters. The Parent
Council had recently been involved in creating a vision for
the school. Parents were informed about pupils’ progress
through helpful written reports and attending parent
meetings. Parents of children attending the nursery class
valued opportunities to discuss their children’s progress
informally on a daily basis and at formal meetings. They
were effectively involved in their children’s learning in a
number of ways, including working alongside staff in the
playroom. The school consulted parents on a variety of
aspects of the work of the school, including sensitive health
issues. The headteacher used their responses appropriately
to improve the work of the school, for example introducing
a dress code and improving communication. Parents
attended school events, including school shows and
fundraising activities.
7. Leading and improving the school
Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.
Evie Primary School provided a caring and supportive environment for pupils and staff.
Nursery staff were aware of the Scottish Social Services Council’s Codes of Practice
and its implications for their work. Pupils, parents and staff were proud of their school.
Pupils were polite, courteous and keen to learn. They responded enthusiastically to
increased opportunities to express an opinion on how to make their school better. The
quality of teaching and learners’ experiences was adequate. There was scope to
improve pupils’ attainment in English language and mathematics by providing them
with greater challenge and by increasing the pace of learning to meet the needs of all
learners more effectively. Staff promoted and celebrated pupils’ achievements well.
They worked well as a team and were committed to providing pupils with high quality
learning experiences. With continued support from the education authority, the
headteacher and staff should be well placed to ensure further improvement.
In his five months in post, the headteacher had already improved the work of the
school. He had established very positive relationships with the school community. He
had developed a sense of teamwork among staff and improved the ethos. He was
highly committed to the pupils and community. Together with staff, pupils and parents
the headteacher had developed a clear vision for improving the work of the school. He
had consulted with staff, parents and pupils to identify strengths and areas for
improvement and used these to highlight appropriate priorities for action. Staff felt
valued and supported. They responded positively to increased opportunities to be
involved in decision making. As a result, staff were committed to change and
improvement. The principal teacher supported the headteacher well. The school’s
arrangements for evaluating its work showed important weaknesses. The headteacher
had strengthened aspects of monitoring and self-evaluation. He monitored the work of
the school in a range of ways and provided staff with helpful feedback. He recognised
the need to monitor pupils’ progress more effectively. Although there were some
recent improvements, approaches to self-evaluation had not yet had any significant
impact on the work of the school. The headteacher, staff and education authority now
need to ensure improvements in learning and teaching based on more effective quality
improvement processes.
The recommendation made at the last Care Commission inspection had been addressed.
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Main points for action
The school and education authority should take action to ensure improvement in:
•
the quality of the curriculum to ensure pupils’ learning builds appropriately on
their prior knowledge;
•
the quality of teaching and learning;
•
the quality of children’s experiences in the nursery;
•
the pace of learning and level of challenge to ensure the needs of children in
the nursery class and pupils in the primary classes are sufficiently well met;
•
aspects of accommodation as identified in the report; and
•
approaches to monitoring and evaluating the work of the nursery and school in
order to impact more positively on learners’ experiences.
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. HM Inspectors will continue to engage with the school and the education
authority in monitoring progress, and will undertake a follow-through inspection. This
will result in a report to parents, within two years of the publication of this report, on
the extent of improvement that has been achieved.
Janie McManus
HM Inspector
13 May 2008
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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?
The curriculum
Teaching for effective learning
Learners’ experiences
Improvement in performance: English language
Improvement in performance: mathematics
How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
Meeting learning needs
How good is the environment for learning?
Care, welfare and development
Management and use of resources and space for learning
The engagement of staff in the life and work of the school
Expectations and promoting achievement
Equality and fairness
The school’s success in involving parents, carers and
families
Leading and improving the school
Developing people and partnerships
Leadership of improvement and change (of the
headteacher)
Improvement through self-evaluation
adequate
adequate
adequate
adequate
adequate
weak
very good
adequate
good
adequate
good
very good
good
good
weak
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by
inspectors:
excellent
very good
good
adequate
weak
unsatisfactory
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
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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
•
Their children enjoyed being at
school.
• The school dealt effectively with
any concerns.
• School reports gave helpful
information about children’s
progress.
• The school was well led.
•
What pupils thought the school did
well
What pupils think the school could
do better
•
•
•
•
•
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Teachers expected pupils to work
hard.
Teachers were good at letting
pupils know how their learning
could be improved.
Staff were good at dealing with any
incidents of bullying behaviour.
Pupils felt safe, well looked after
and knew what to do if they were
upset.
Pupils had a say in deciding how to
make the school better.
•
A few would like more
information about the school’s
priorities for improving.
There were no significant issues.
Appendix 3 Good practice
In the course of the inspection, the following aspects of innovative and effective
practice were evaluated as being worthy of wider dissemination.
School Vision
The school aimed to review its vision and at the same time increase pupil
participation in the life of the school. Staff wanted to provide more opportunities
for pupils to be involved in discussions of substantial topics, to have choice and
to be given more responsibility. One approach was for the pupils to be involved
in writing the school’s vision statement. At P6/P7, pupils watched part of a
national resource about excellence then worked collaboratively to provide
suggestions for the school vision under the heading ‘What Kind of School Do We
Want?’. A group of pupils at P6/P7 then developed a presentation for the Parent
Council and other parents. The pupils took responsibility for organising
activities for the parents and led them through the process of building a vision for
the school. All the results were collated, displayed and used to form part of the
vision for the school. This resulted in staff, pupils and parents being involved in
reviewing the aims of the school through an interactive and engaging process.
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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 Recreation 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, 28 Longman Road, Longman East,
Inverness IV1 1SF or by telephoning 01463 253115. 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 HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm
House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.
If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to our
Complaints Manager, HMIE Business Management and Communications Team,
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.
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HM Inspectorate of Education
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