BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A. i. School: Enniskillen Model Primary iii.Date of Inspection: W/B05/03/01

ii.School Reference Number: 201-6152 iv. Nature of Inspection: General

B.

School Year / 1996/97 / 1997/98 / 1998/99 / 1999/00 / 2000/01
Year 1 Intake / 69 / 52 / 67 / 52 / 62
Enrolments
Primary / 414 / 419 / 427 / 418 / 434
Reception / 7 / 9 / 10 / 18 / 13
Nursery Class/Classes / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Special Unit / 18 / 19 / 18 / 18 / 20

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):95.55%

Primary &NurserySpecial Reception Unit Unit

D. i.Number of Teachers
(including the principal and part-time teachers):18.6-3
(Full-time equivalent = 25 teaching hours)

ii.PTR (Pupil/Teacher Ratio):24.03 NI PTR: 19.9

iii.Average Class Size:27.93

iv.Class Size (Range):22-34

v.Ancillary Support:
Number of Hours Per Week: i.Clerical support:38

ii. Official Making A Good30

Start Support:
iii. Making A Good Start funding141.75

additional hours and other85.00 (Language Unit)

classroom assistant support:

vi.Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs:17 - including

Language Unit

vii.Number of children who are not of statutory school age:13

viii. Number of families in school:336

ix.Percentage of children entitled to free school meals:10%

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1Enniskillen Model Primary School is situated within the town on the eastern side of Lough Erne. Most of the children come from Enniskillen and the remainder from the surrounding area. The enrolment has climbed steadily in recent years and is currently 467 which includes 20 children in the speech and language unit. Some 10% of the children are entitled to free school meals.

1.2The reporting inspector and a lay member met with the Board of Governors and with the parents on the first day of the inspection; ten parents were present. The parents and governors spoke of their high regard for the commitment and dedication of all the staff and the quality of pastoral care for the children. The inspection findings endorse these views.

1.3The arrangements for pastoral care included the completion of questionnaires by the parents in addition to the meetings with the governors, the parents and the children. Overall, the questionnaires indicate a very high degree of satisfaction with the work of the school. The only issue raised by a small number of parents concerns the large numbers of children in a few of the key stage 2 (KS2) classes. This inspection confirms that the quality of learning and teaching in these classes is not affected adversely by their size.

2.SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

2.1Enniskillen Model operates within a very pleasant and ordered atmosphere. The relationships between the teachers and the children are very good. The children’s welfare is given high priority and they are supervised well in all activities throughout the day. The children co-operate well with one another in class and in the playground, and respond respectfully to their teachers and supervisors.

2.2The very positive ethos reflects the commitment and hard work of all who are associated with the school. There is a prevailing sense of tradition; the children take pride in the school and identify closely with it. The teachers and all the non-teaching staff show a strong loyalty to the school. The principal and the teachers set high standards for the dress, behaviour and achievements of the children.

2.3The children are friendly, courteous and well-behaved; they are happy in school and report that they feel secure. The teachers are hard-working and committed to the development and welfare of the children. They know the children well and strive to make good provision for their individual needs. They provide many opportunities for the children from the special unit to work and play with their peers in the main school.

2.4The teachers create a stimulating learning environment. Numerous examples of the children’s work, covering all areas of the curriculum, are displayed in the classrooms and in the corridors. These include three-dimensional displays which also serve well as valuable learning and teaching resources, and photographs depicting the many activities in which the children are involved. The displays are of a high quality, reflecting the thought and creativity of the children and the teachers.

2.5The non-teaching staff make a very valuable contribution to the life and work of the school. In addition, parent-helpers give their service voluntarily to support the work of the school. The school is cleaned and maintained to a high standard.

2.6The quality of teaching ranges from satisfactory to very good and on occasions it is excellent; the majority of the teaching is of a good quality.

2.7The children are well-motivated to learn. They are attentive to their teachers, contribute willingly and often enthusiastically to class discussions and engage in tasks and in play activities with interest and perseverance. They enjoy a broad range of experiences and achieve standards in English and mathematics in line with their abilities; for a significant minority the standards are very good.

2.8The teachers mark the children’s written work conscientiously using a variety of strategies to reward their efforts.

2.9The school has established links with two primary schools in the area. The children in years 4-7 have good opportunities to work with children from other communities particularly in areas of the curriculum such as history and cultural heritage.

2.10The school places a strong emphasis on the promotion of healthy eating and the development of a healthy lifestyle. The children study relevant aspects of health education as part of general class themes and topics.

2.11The school gives a high priority to the development of information and communications technology (ICT) within the curriculum. The children have good experiences of ICT which enhance their learning across the curriculum.

2.12All staff associated with the speech and language unit work hard to provide interesting, enjoyable and worthwhile experiences for the children. Effective arrangements are in place to ensure that the children from the unit have opportunities to integrate with the children in other classes.

2.13The principal is in his third year in post. He has a clear vision for the school and sets the tone for its work. He is hard-working and shows strong commitment and dedication to the school and to the children. He has been instrumental in developing the teachers’ awareness of the key issues relating to learning and teaching. He is ably supported by the vice-principal.

2.14In recent years there has been a strong focus on school development planning and a considerable amount of review and development has taken place across a wide range of areas of the school’s provision. This activity has been undertaken thoroughly and methodically and has resulted in many significant improvements. It is now timely to consolidate some of this development and to allow it to bed down into the normal working practice of the school. In order to facilitate this it will be necessary to reduce the number and pace of development activities to more manageable proportions.

2.15The 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.

2.16The majority of the teachers are involved in providing an extensive programme of sporting and other extra-curricular activities which take place on three afternoons each week and during some lunchtimes; they are supported well by some of the parents. Most of the children in year 4 to year 7 participate.

2.17The school has good links with its parents and encourages them to play an active role in their children’s education. A regular newsletter keeps the parents informed about school matters. The school has an active parents’ association which organises social functions and raises substantial amounts of money to support the work of the school; some eleven computers were purchased recently from such efforts.

2.18The school’s accommodation is in a very good state of repair. There is considerable congestion around the school at the beginning and end of the school day. The principal and governors have been addressing the issue for some time and with the support of the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) and the Department of the Environment have added a useful lay-by. Further developments need to be considered to ensure the complete safety of the children; these are outlined in the appendix on Health and Safety.

2.19The school has in place procedures in line with the guidance given in Department of Education (DE) Circular 1999/10 on Child Protection.

2.20This school’s strengths include the positive ethos, the breadth of experiences provided for the children, the commitment of the principal and staff, the quality of the teaching and the good behaviour and responses of the children. The school is able to deal with the issues raised in this report.

3.ETHOS

3.1Enniskillen Model operates within a very pleasant and ordered atmosphere. The relationships between the teachers and the children are very good. The children’s welfare is given high priority and they are supervised well in all activities throughout the day. The children co-operate well with one another in class and in the playground and respond respectfully to their teachers and supervisors.

3.2The very positive ethos reflects the commitment and hard work of all who are associated with the school. There is a prevailing sense of tradition; the children take pride in the school and identify closely with it. The principal, teachers and all the non-teaching staff show a strong loyalty to the school. The principal and the teachers set high standards for the dress, behaviour and achievements of the children.

3.3The children are friendly, courteous and well-behaved; they are happy in school and report that they feel secure. The teachers are hard-working and committed to the development and welfare of the children. They know the children well and strive to make good provision for their individual needs. They provide many opportunities for the children from the special unit to work and play with their peers in the main school.

3.4The teachers create a stimulating learning environment. Numerous examples of the children’s work, covering all areas of the curriculum, are displayed in the classrooms and in the corridors. These include three-dimensional displays which also serve well as valuable learning and teaching resources, and photographs depicting the many activities in which the children are involved. The displays are of a high quality, reflecting the thought and creativity of the children and the teachers.

3.5The non-teaching staff make a very valuable contribution to the life and work of the school. In addition, parent-helpers give their service voluntarily to support the work of the school. The school is cleaned and maintained to a high standard.

4.THE QUALITY OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

4.1The teachers plan conscientiously. They work collaboratively in year groups to review the work completed and to plan short term units of work. They are developing increasingly their planning to identify intended learning outcomes for the children; this way of working is having a positive influence on the rest of the planning process. In the best practice, the planning provides for the subsequent evaluation of the children’s learning and is used to inform future planning. At a whole-school level, the teachers have worked hard in reviewing and developing the curriculum to produce policies and schemes of work for all curricular areas. They now need to consolidate and to refine the current documentation to ensure that it serves as practical, working guidance.

4.2The quality of teaching ranges from satisfactory to very good and on occasions it is excellent; the majority of the teaching is of a good quality. The teachers use a variety of teaching approaches and the teaching environment is characterised by purposeful teaching within a settled and stimulating environment. In general, the teachers use oral work well to promote the children’s understanding; they set tasks which develop the children’s learning, consolidate their learning at the conclusion of lessons and assess the outcomes through careful monitoring. In a few instances, the teachers need to raise their expectations of what the children are capable of attaining, rely less on textbook exercises to promote learning and set the pace of lessons more appropriately.

4.3The children are well-motivated to learn. They are attentive to their teachers, contribute willingly and often enthusiastically to class discussions and engage in tasks and in play activities with interest and perseverance. They take pride in their work and a number undertake research at home in ways which develops their learning. They respond well to their teachers and work together in a co-operative and sensible manner.

4.4The teachers mark the children’s written work conscientiously using a variety of strategies to reward their efforts including personalised comments, merit stickers and stamps. In the best practice observed, there was evidence of marking for improvement; this practice needs to be adopted and applied more consistently throughout the school.

4.5The school has established links with two primary schools in the area. The children in years 4-7 have good opportunities to work with children from other communities particularly in areas of the curriculum such as history and cultural heritage. The children participate in workshop sessions and visits to areas of historical interest. Collections of books and displays relating to different cultures are used well to enhance the children’s learning. A multicultural event was organised by the Parents’ Association which enabled the children to become more aware of different traditions, clothes and food. The school supports generously a variety of local and national charities; groups of children also visit senior citizens within the local community.

4.6The school places a strong emphasis on the promotion of healthy eating and the development of a healthy lifestyle. The children study relevant aspects of health education as part of general class themes and topics. During a physical education (PE) lesson, for example, the children in a year3 class consolidated their understanding of how heart rate increases after exercise. The children talk knowledgeably about healthy foods, about the need for exercise and personal hygiene and the importance of being safe in the home, at school and in the neighbourhood. The parents are kept informed about aspects of health education which the school is promoting currently.

4.7The school gives a high priority to the development of ICT within the curriculum. The teachers have benefited from extensive in-service training (INSET) courses and from school-based support sessions. They have carried out an audit of ICT provision and prepared a framework to guide the teachers’ planning for progression and continuity in the children’s learning. The children have good experiences of ICT which enhance their learning across the curriculum. The computer suite is used by all of the classes to enable the children to carry out research, to compose text on screen, to prepare work for display, and to explore and reinforce skills in English and mathematics. The children are encouraged to use home computers, for example, to carry out research for class topics. In KS2, the children select relevant software programmes competently; they carry out basic word-processing tasks and print images effectively. In addition many of the children combine images and text. In both key stages they use graphic software to create paintings, drawings and pictorial representations of data which they have collected. The teachers have developed a valuable link with a school in California; this has provided opportunities for the setting up of a school web site and for the children to use e-mail to share poetry and other work with children in another school. The children use computers confidently; they are acquiring a good range of ICT skills.

4.8Structured play is organised well. The children have opportunities to develop their learning and language through a variety of well-planned activities. They choose freely from a range of activities, planned in topics, which integrate meaningfully various aspects of the children’s learning. The teachers and classroom assistants engage fully with the children, spending sustained periods with one group at a time to work along with the children promoting their understanding through useful questioning and support. The children enjoy the activities and co-operate well with one another. On regular planned occasions, the children from the special unit join with the children in the main school in their play; this integration also involves the children from the main school integrating into the play activities of the special unit. This two-way integration, which also happens in other curricular areas, is beneficial for all the children concerned.