/ 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
The Armstrong Primary School and Special Unit
Armagh
Inspected: March 2003

BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A. i. School: The Armstrong Primary iii.Date of Inspection: W/B24.03.03
Armagh

ii.School Reference Number: 501-1115 iv. Nature of Inspection: Focused

B.

School Year / 1998/99 / 1999/00 / 2000/01 / 2001/02 / 2002/03
Year 1 Intake / 34 / 35 / 35 / 34 / 24
Enrolments
Primary / 336 / 315 / 320 / 310 / 295
Reception / 6 / 2 / 9 / 3 / 10
Nursery Class/Classes / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Special Unit / 20 / 20 / 19 / 16 / 14

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):95.30%

Primary &NurserySpecial Reception Unit Unit

D. i.Number of Teachers
(including the principal and part-time teachers):14.16-2
(Full-time equivalent = 25 teaching hours)

ii.PTR (Pupil/Teacher Ratio):21.53 NI PTR: 19.9

iii.Average Class Size:23.46

iv.Class Size (Range):10-33

v.Ancillary Support:
Number of Hours Per Week: i.Clerical support:36.25

ii. Official Making A Good25

Start Support:
iii. Making A Good Start funding37

additional hours and other

classroom assistant support:

vi.Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs:4

vii.Number of children who are not of statutory school age:10

viii. Percentage of children entitled to free school meals:13%

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1The Armstrong Primary School is situated in the City of Armagh. The majority of the children attending the school come from the surrounding area. Approximately 13% of the children are entitled to free school meals.

1.2As part of the arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care, a sample of parents was invited to complete questionnaires. Of the 120 questionnaires issued, 41% were completed and returned to the Department of Education; 22 of these returns included extended comments. During the inspection, the inspectors held separate meetings with representatives of the Board of Governors and with parents in order to hear their views about the work of the school. The vast majority of the responses, both oral and written, expressed a high level of satisfaction with the work of the school. The responses highlighted, in particular, the caring ethos, the welcome offered to parents, the good leadership of the principal and the hard-working teaching and ancillary staff. The inspection findings, in most respects, endorse strongly the positive views of the parents and governors.

1.3During the inspection, members of the inspection team held discussions with two small groups of children in years 4 and 6: all of them reported that they felt safe and that they knew to whom to turn for advice or help.

1.4The inspection focused on the work in mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT), and on the school’s arrangements for pastoral care.

2.THE QUALITY OF THE CHILDREN’S WORK

2.1The Armstrong Primary School operates within a pleasant and ordered atmosphere. The good ethos reflects the commitment of all who are associated with the school. The relationships between the staff and children are very good. The principal and teachers are hard-working and demonstrate dedication to the school and the children. All the teachers are involved in providing a broad programme of sporting and other extra-curricular activities which take place each week; most of the children in years 4-7 participate. The non-teaching staff make a valuable contribution to the life and work of the school.

2.2The school’s accommodation is good; the building and grounds are well maintained. Attractive displays and photographs of the children’s work and achievements enhance the appearance of the classrooms and corridors. The school is cleaned and maintained to a very high standard.

2.3The quality of the pastoral care provided for the children is a significant strength of the school. In the comprehensive policies for pastoral care and child protection, the procedures, guidelines and implementation strategies are set out clearly. The school has other policy documents relating to pastoral care which contribute to and broaden its pastoral care. The school’s pastoral care team includes representation from the Board of Governors. All staff, including the ancillary personnel, have received training in relation to Child Protection matters. The school’s Child Protection arrangements are in line with the guidance given in the Department of Education’s Circular 1999/10.

2.4As part of the school’s commitment to providing suitable pastoral care for the children, the year 6 and year 7 children have a weekly taught session on personal, social and health education (PSHE). In these PSHE lessons the children respond well to opportunities to discuss and explore relevant topics such as, friendship and forgiveness. Examples of the children’s work on issues, for example bullying, are displayed in the classrooms and corridors. A Pupils’ Council has been established recently, whose members are elected by their peers from the year 4 to 7 classes. Almost all of the matters that have been raised by the Pupils’ Council have received favourable consideration from the Senior Management Team (SMT) to which it reports.

2.5The children are friendly, courteous and well behaved; they co-operate well with one another in class and in the playground and respond respectfully to their teachers and other staff. In the lessons observed, the children generally displayed a good level of interest in their learning and settled quickly to the tasks set. Appropriately the school has identified the need to provide the children with more regular opportunities to be challenged to think for themselves, develop their own ideas and take a more active involvement in the learning process.

2.6The policies and schemes of work prepared by the staff generally provide a sound basis for their work. In the best practice, the teachers’ plan for the subsequent evaluation of the children’s learning and they use the outcomes of their evaluation to inform their future planning. The staff need to share the good practice which already exists and to plan more effectively for learning rather than merely ensuring coverage of the curricular content to be taught. Within the range satisfactory to excellent, the quality of most of the teaching observed was good. In the best practice observed, the work was appropriately paced and featured constructive learning activities which were well matched to the need and abilities of the children. In other lessons, the children were not sufficiently challenged or supported effectively to maximise their learning, or the work was over-directed by the teacher.

2.7The school is in the first year of a three-year programme of development in mathematics, receiving support from the Curriculum Advisory and Support Service (CASS) of the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB), within the framework of the Northern Ireland Numeracy Strategy. The school’s mathematics co-ordinator, now in her second year in post, is providing good leadership and support for this area of the curriculum. In the current year, the school is working for improvement in important aspects of the subject, mental mathematics, practical approaches, investigative work and the use of ICT.

2.8Detailed and comprehensive whole-school planning provides for systematic progression in number, measures, shape and space, handling data and aspects of processes in mathematics. In both key stages, the development of concepts and skills in these areas of mathematics is well structured. Guidance on mental mathematics also provides a sound framework for progression. The teachers’ medium-term planning for their classes ensures that the children experience a suitable balance between number and other aspects of mathematics. Statements of learning outcomes are a helpful feature of the teachers’ planning at this level. Increasingly, the teachers are using the learning outcomes to assess the children’s progress, evaluate the teaching and plan the next steps in learning.

2.9The teachers use an appropriate variety of approaches and resources to promote the children’s learning in mathematics. In the early years, use is made of structured play, topic work and the general life and work of the classroom as meaningful contexts for mathematical learning. The teachers make good use of learning in other areas of the curriculum for the children to develop and apply their mathematics. In subjects such as science, geography and history there is abundant evidence of the purposeful use of counting, measuring, recording, calculating, interpreting information and presenting it various graphical forms. In both key stages, the children respond well to the practical approaches used to promote learning in all aspects of mathematics. The planning and the teaching place appropriate emphasis on developing the children’s use of mathematical language.

2.10Regular sessions of mental work in number have been introduced throughout the school. As a result, the children are gaining in confidence and skill in working with number mentally. The children enjoy the sessions; instances were observed of number games being used to good effect. In the most effective practice, the sessions are well focused, active teaching helps the children to improve, and the children are encouraged to explain their thinking and methods.

2.11As part of the school’s development work in the subject, the teachers are placing more emphasis on mathematical enquiry and application by incorporating opportunities for the children to solve non-routine problems and to undertake investigative work. The examples of good work observed in both key stages provide a sound basis for further progress, particularly the integration of processes in mathematics into learning in all areas of the subject.

2.12As they move through the school, most children make sound progress in number and in other areas of mathematics. In both key stages, but particularly in the early years, a minority of children are insecure in their understanding of number; the teaching needs to ensure that all children are acquiring a sound foundation as a basis for further work. By end of key stage (KS) 2, the children achieve sound standards across a broad range of work in mathematics, commensurate with their abilities.

2.13The school has identified the use of ICT to support teaching and learning as a priority for development. Recent progress in ICT provision has been good. The school’s concept of ICT is suitably broad, including, primarily and appropriately, the use of the computer; but also the effective use of audio-visual resources to support classroom practice. The ICT co-ordinator has worked enthusiastically and energetically to improve the range and quality of ICT work in the school. Recent New Opportunities Fund (NOF) training has improved greatly the staff’s level of confidence and competence in the use of ICT.

2.14he school’s comprehensive policy for ICT provides for continuity and progression in the children’s experiences of ICT and forms a good framework for current and future development. In addition, the school has identified areas for further development. The children use a variety of ICT resources, including commercially produced programmes used to reinforce their skills in literacy and numeracy. Increasingly, the children are using computers to word-process and illustrate their written work. They are motivated by ICT and enjoy using ICT in their work. They are developing their knowledge of basic keyboard functions and, during the inspection, some demonstrated competence and confidence in word-processing and in other purposeful ICT activities. For example, year 5 children used databases to record and analyse the outcomes of class surveys. In both key stages, the children use the Roamer computer robot to explore and consolidate work in English and mathematics. The internet and CD-ROMs are used to access and research information for use in project work. In KS2, the children have word-processed pieces of their work including stories, book reports and work arising in many subjects; some of the older children have also used newspaper simulation software. The current year 7 children are working towards external accreditation in ICT. At present, some of the children make use of their home computers to complement their schoolwork. The planned additional ICT provision, when installed, will allow the children increased access to computers during class and at other times.

2.15The recently reviewed planning for structured play is detailed and highlights opportunities for the children’s progressive development in all areas of play; this planning is not yet reflected fully in practice. The younger children enjoy regular sessions of structured play; the teachers plan these sessions to support the work in other areas of the curriculum. In some instances, more judicious intervention by the teacher is required and a wider range of resources is necessary to extend choice and to promote thinking and discussion.

2.16The school uses screening tests and the teachers’ own knowledge of the children, to identify, from an early stage, the children who require additional help with their learning. Thirty of these children are withdrawn from class in small groups for literacy support from a part-time special educational needs (SEN) teacher who uses further tests to diagnose the children’s needs. These withdrawal lessons are well structured; the teacher uses a good range of approaches to motivate the children in their learning. The SEN teacher also provides in-class support for some of these children. There is no additional support for children experiencing difficulties in mathematics.

2.17The school has a reception class of 10 children who are not of compulsory school age. The children are settled well and they participate in a varied programme of activities which promote enjoyable early learning.

2.18Fourteen children are enrolled in two Learning Support Centres (LSC) for children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD). The teachers’ planning is thorough. In addition to well informed individual programmes, good use is made of topic work; for example, in the senior LSC the pupils studied the lifecycle of the butterfly and the teacher integrated effectively literacy, mathematics and technology and design into a series of lessons to which the pupils responded with interest and enthusiasm. The teachers use a variety of appropriate learning resources and the work is well matched to the range of ability. They use the local community to good effect to develop the children’s social and life skills. In addition, the teachers in the LSCs work closely with the other teachers in the school to ensure that the children have appropriate opportunities to join other children in various areas of the curriculum. For instance, the children learn to communicate through structured play, Circle Time and the many co-operative activities provided.

2.19The LSC teachers and classroom assistants work well together to provide a stimulating and caring environment. They participate actively and skilfully in the various activities provided to promote the development of the children’s language, independence and self-esteem. In the junior LSC, for example, the teacher and classroom assistants developed the children’s literacy skills, health education awareness and social skills through a well-organised lesson on practical cookery. Both LSCs have received additional computer equipment; these additional learning resources and the expertise of the teachers have the potential to enhance the children’s learning further.

2.20Every effort is made by the school to work in partnership with the parents. The parents are kept fully informed of the school’s pastoral care and Child Protection arrangements. Each year the school provides the parents with two written reports of their child’s progress and regular opportunities are provided for the parents to visit the school to discuss the progress and welfare of their children. The school has an active parents’ association which organises social functions and raises substantial amounts of money to support the work of the school.

2.21The principal is in his second year in post. He has established a favourable and stable environment for teaching and learning, and a strong sense of collegiality among the staff. He is ably supported by the recently appointed vice-principal; together they are providing good pastoral and curricular leadership.

2.22The school has made a useful beginning to monitoring and evaluating the teaching and learning. The principal visits classrooms regularly. Whole school, key stage and year group meetings enable the teachers to review programmes of work and discuss the children’s work and the standards achieved. The school has appointed co-ordinators for each area of the curriculum. They discharge their roles efficiently and effectively and contribute significantly to the development and implementation of the curriculum; increasingly, they monitor the teachers’ planning and review samples of the children’s work from within and across year groups. The school is beginning to build up a comprehensive record of end of key stage results, standardised tests for reading and mathematics and other tests.