Department for Employment and Learning

/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education

Department for Employment and Learning

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education and Training Inspectorate
Report of a Focused Inspection
Annsborough Integrated Primary School
Castlewellan
Inspected: November 2003

BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A. i. School: Annsborough Integrated Primary iii.Date of Inspection: W/B 24.11.03
Castlewellan

ii.School Reference Number: 405-3009 iv. Nature of Inspection: Focused

B.

School Year / 1999/00 / 2000/01 / 2001/02 / 2002/03 / 2003/04
Year 1 Intake / 4 / 3 / 10 / 7 / 4
Enrolments
Primary / 47 / 44 / 45 / 43 / 39
Reception / 4 / 5 / 0 / 2 / 3
Nursery Class/Classes / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Special Unit / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0

The enrolment for the current year is the figure on the day of notification of inspection.
For previous years it is the figure in the annual return to the Department of Education.

The calculations at C and D should be based on the total of the primary and reception enrolments only.

C.Average Attendance for the Previous School Year
(expressed as a percentage):93%

Primary &NurserySpecial Reception Unit Unit

D. i.Number of Teachers
(including the principal and part-time teachers):3.64--
(Full-time equivalent = 25 teaching hours)

ii.PTR (Pupil/Teacher Ratio):11.5 NI PTR: 19.9

iii.Average Class Size:14

iv.Class Size (Range):12-15

v.Ancillary Support:
Number of Hours Per Week: i.Clerical support:12.5

ii. Official Making A Good16

Start Support:
iii. Making A Good Start funding20

additional hours and other

classroom assistant support:

vi.Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs:2

vii.Number of children who are not of statutory school age: 3

viii. Percentage of children entitled to free school meals:16.6%

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1Annsborough Integrated Primary School is situated in the village of Annsborough approximately one mile outside Castlewellan. About 35% of the children come from Annsborough or Castlewellan, and 65% from the surrounding rural area. The school identifies approximately 18% of the children as requiring special help with their learning, and approximately 16.6% are in receipt of free school meals.

1.2The school was established in 1835 to educate workers at the Annsborough mill. Since its foundation, the school has welcomed children from both major traditions. In 1997 it was one of the first schools to go through the process of transformation and become a controlled integrated school. The enrolment has decreased slightly in recent years. In 1999/2000 it stood at 51; the current enrolment is 42.

1.3The inspection focused on the process of transformation; the school’s provision for pastoral care and special needs were also inspected. As part of the inspection process, the school was invited to reflect on its progress with transformation, to write a self-evaluative report and to suggest lessons and activities which would be illustrative of its work in this area. Members of the inspection team visited a sample of these lessons and activities.

1.4As part of the arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care, parents were invited to complete confidential questionnaires. Of the 43 questionnaires issued, 17 were completed and returned to the Department of Education (DE); a significant minority included extended written comments. During the inspection, the inspectors held a meeting with representatives of the Board of Governors (BoG) and with a number of parents in order to hear their views of the school. The governors and almost all of the parents were strongly supportive of the work of the school. In particular, both groups commended the hard-working, helpful and friendly staff who they feel have a very positive influence on the values of the children. They also highlighted the strong family atmosphere which typifies the school and commented that the school has a long and successful record of educating together children from different traditions. Written comments from parents, including those relating to special needs and the reporting procedures, were discussed with the principal.

1.5The inspectors held discussions with a small group of children from year 6 and year 7, who appreciate the friendly ethos and the supportive teachers. They feel safe in school and they enjoy the teaching and learning experiences that the school provides including the range of extra-curricular activities offered. The children are aware that the school has a long tradition of providing integrated education for the children of the local area. The inspection findings endorse strongly the favourable comments made by the governors, parents and the children.

2.THE QUALITY OF THE CHLDREN’S WORK

2.1The school has a caring, friendly and family atmosphere. The colourful displays in the classrooms and in the corridors reflect the wide range of experiences provided and include materials that have been produced to acknowledge and celebrate diversity. The relationships, which are founded on mutual respect and good humour, are always very good or excellent. The teachers and support staff work closely as a team. Pastoral care is a high priority in the school; the teachers set a positive and inclusive tone in the classroom and value the children’s work and their individual contributions to the life of the school. The children are taught to be helpful and supportive, particularly of the younger children. The effective merit system encourages the children to set and achieve personal targets, and to develop a responsible and positive attitude towards their work.

2.2Appropriate policies have been agreed and are in place to help the teachers and support staff provide pastoral support for the children. The policies reflect appropriately the guidance outlined in the DE Circular on Child Protection, 1999/10. Procedures for dealing with child protection and related issues such as bullying and discipline are set out clearly, and relevant training has been completed. The children are aware of the support network and the range of contacts that is available. In their day-to-day work within the curriculum, the teachers reinforce sensitively the children’s awareness of these matters.

2.3The school values, and is valued by, the local community; it has established good relationships with the representatives of the local churches. The older children have visited the local churches to participate in services, to gather information and to identify and take pictures of their main features. There are effective arrangements for religious education and the Roman Catholic children receive instruction for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation. In addition, the school choir performs at services in the Roman Catholic Church. A whole-school assembly has been introduced when children are encouraged to participate and worship through prayers and songs. Under the auspices of the Schools Community Relations Programme (SCRP) the children have regular contacts with another transforming school, of similar size, located within the same Education and Library Board (ELB) area. A comprehensive range of visits and activities is undertaken as part of this programme.

2.4The teachers are hard-working and committed to the school. They are well prepared for lessons and they know the children very well. Most of the teaching is good or very good; typically lessons show significant strengths or more strengths than weaknesses. The teachers and the classroom assistants establish good relationships, are aware of individual differences and work effectively to support the children’s learning. All of the children are taught in composite classes, and the teachers plan carefully to ensure that they have an appropriate range of experiences across the curriculum. Resources, including information and communication technology (ICT), are used well to support learning. Particularly good use is made of local materials, experiences and contexts as starting points for aspects of the work in history, ICT, literacy, mathematics and religious education.

2.5Circle time, has been introduced, and in the work seen, was used successfully to establish a secure environment for discussion about helping others. The children are confident in stating their views and they listen attentively to the views of others.

2.6The children respond well to the learning opportunities that are presented by the teachers. They are almost invariably well motivated and interested. In the vast majority of lessons the children settle quickly to their tasks, work effectively alone or in small groups and co-operate well with the teachers and with each other.

2.7The children benefit from sessions of well-planned and organised structured play. They are supported well by the teachers and the classroom assistants. The children settle quickly, show enjoyment, confidence and concentration and a growing sense of independence. The range of activities provides good experiences across the curricular areas. The ethos and the activities foster engagement and provide an environment in which discussion is promoted.

2.8The majority of the older children are gaining confidence as they engage with various print materials; they can read with purpose and scan and extract information from various sources in response to the questions posed and tasks set by the teacher. The children have opportunities to write across the curriculum and are mostly confident to try out writing tasks, answer questions, give opinions and talk about their work. However, it is appropriate that the School Development Plan identifies the need for a review of writing to extend further the opportunities provided for children to write independently for a range of audiences and purposes. The children in both key stages enjoy working with ICT and have made good use of the computer, the data projector and the digital camera to manipulate images and devise presentations for showing to a class or school audience. While the presentation of much of the children’s work is good or very good, that of a small number of the children in key stage (KS) 2 could be improved further.

2.9The children respond positively and sensitively to work in religious education. In the later stages of KS1 and in KS2, they are growing in knowledge and understanding of the importance of Advent in the Christian calendar and they competently identify some of the similarities that exist between Christianity and other world religions.

2.10The teachers monitor the children’s work regularly and provide oral feedback. Much of the children’s work is annotated with supportive comments which allow them to correct mistakes and improve aspects of their performance. The parents receive detailed written reports and have regular opportunities to meet with the teachers.

2.11Through teacher observation and standardised testing, the school identifies clearly those children who are in need of additional support with their learning in English. Two children also receive Outreach support. Four of the children from years 3-7 who require support are withdrawn from class, individually and in small groups, for three intensive sessions a week. The planning is thorough and clearly identifies the learning needs of individual children. Appropriately, the children are involved in setting and reviewing their own targets. The teaching is well-organised and supportive; the children make clear progress and gain much confidence and self-esteem. During the lessons the teacher uses a range of appropriate teaching approaches to consolidate learning and regular reviews of the children’s progress are used to effectively support future planning.

2.12The teachers have attended a range of relevant in-service education and training (INSET) courses, provided by the South-Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB), including courses which relate to the school’s priority of mathematics. These courses are having a positive impact on classroom practice.

2.13The principal, who has served as a teacher in the school for many years, was appointed in September2002. Since her appointment she has widened the range of activities to promote further the ethos of integration which has always been a strong feature of the school. She is supportive of the staff and committed to the school and the local area. The school is well-placed to develop further the process of transformation.

3.CONCLUSION

3.1The strengths of the school include:

• the caring, friendly and family atmosphere;

• the good or excellent relationships;

• the high priority given to pastoral care;

• the effective merit system;

• the good relationships established with the local and wider community;

• the good or very good quality of the teaching;

• the hard-working, committed and well prepared teachers who work effectively as a team;

• the good use made of local materials, experiences and contexts as starting points for learning in many areas of the curriculum including religious education;

• the well motivated and interested children;

• the provision for those children who require support with their learning;

• the commitment of the principal and the teachers to promote integration further.

3.2In the area under focus the quality of education provided in this school is good. The educational and pastoral needs of the children are being well met.

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 CROWN COPYRIGHT 2004

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Copies of this report may be obtained from the Inspection Services Branch, Department of Education, Rathgael House, 43 Balloo Road, Bangor, Co Down BT19 7PR. A copy is also available on the DE website: