BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A. i. School: St MacNissi’s Primary iii. Date of Inspection: W/B15/05/00
Newtownabbey

ii.School Reference Number: 303-6139 iv. Nature of Inspection: General

B.

School Year / 1995/96 / 1996/97 / 1997/98 / 1998/99 / 1999/2000
Year 1 Intake / 25 / 23 / 18 / 16 / 22
Enrolments
Primary / 130 / 140 / 135 / 120 / 131
Reception / 16 / 14 / 14 / 17 / 12
Nursery Class/Classes / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Special Unit / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 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):95.71%

Primary &NurserySpecial Reception Unit Unit

D. i.Number of Teachers
(including the principal and part-time teachers):7--
(Full-time equivalent = 25 teaching hours)

ii.PTR (Pupil/Teacher Ratio):20.4 NI PTR: 19.9

iii.Average Class Size:20.4

iv.Class Size (Range):12-28

v.Ancillary Support:
Number of Hours Per Week: i.Clerical support:15

ii. Official Making A Good10

Start Support:
iii. Making A Good Start funding6.5

additional hours and other

classroom assistant support:

vi.Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs:0

vii.Number of children who are not of statutory school age:12

viii. Number of families in school:112

ix.Percentage of children entitled to free school meals:2%

1

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1St MacNissi’s Primary School is situated off the ManseRoad in Newtownabbey. It draws the majority of its children from within a three mile radius of the school. Against a pattern of generally declining enrolment, there has been an increase in the number of children attending the school in the current year. Approximately 2% of the children are entitled to free school meals. The school identifies about 5% of the children of compulsory school age as requiring special help with their learning.

1.2As part of the inspection process, the parents’ views on aspects of the life and work of the school were sought by means of a questionnaire. Members of the inspection team also met with governors, parents and groups of children to hear their views at first-hand. The children indicated that they enjoyed school and generally felt happy and secure. The governors and parents were strongly supportive of the work of the school. Particular mention was made of the caring ethos and the dedication of the staff; these views are endorsed by the inspection findings.

2.SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

2.1This school has a family ethos and a busy and purposeful atmosphere. It enjoys the interest and strong support of its parents and governors. The staff form a hard-working team; together they have created a caring community and an attractive and orderly learning environment. They know the children well, relate well to them and are committed to their well-being and development.

2.2The children are pleasant and friendly. The vast majority are co-operative and well motivated to learn, often engaging in their work with enthusiasm, animation and sustained attention. The behaviour of most of the children is exemplary. The unsettledness of some children in one class places particular demands on the teacher.

2.3The classrooms and public areas are enhanced by displays of the children’s work and photographic records of their activities. The school broadens the children’s experiences through a good range of extra-curricular activities and links with other schools.

2.4The school encourages the parents to be involved with the school. Each year opportunities are provided for the parents to learn about the curriculum within their child’s class and to discuss their child’s progress with his/her teacher. Some parents participate in a reading scheme. The school provides information to the parents about school life; it reports that the parents and the wider community are strongly supportive of special events. The Parents’ Association organises social and fund-raising events and manages an After School Club. Some parents help the staff with supervision on school trips.

2.5The school has made good progress in moving towards a position which is in line with the Department of Education guidance Circular 1999/10, “Pastoral Care in Schools: Child Protection”. The procedures for dealing with child protection are laid out clearly in the school’s policy document; the staff have received training and vetting arrangements are being implemented. There are appropriate procedures for dealing with reported incidents of bullying. The school intends to inform the parents of its Child Protection procedures.

2.6The teachers have drawn up whole-school policies and/or schemes of work for most subjects; in certain subjects, further work is required to provide sufficient guidance. Individually, the teachers are systematic and mostly thorough in planning their own work. A strong and interesting feature is the extent to which most of the teachers regularly evaluate their planned programmes. The planning cycle could be improved further by focusing more on the standards of learning expected from the children, both in general and more specifically for individuals and groups within classes.

2.7The quality of teaching observed on the inspection ranged from fair to very good; overall it was sound or better. The teachers used a variety of teaching approaches and lessons were generally clearly focused and well structured. There were good examples of teachers using imaginative contexts or activities and skilful discussions to stimulate the children’s interest and challenge their thinking. On occasions, some children were less involved in their learning, for example, when aspects of their work were insufficiently well matched or managed.

2.8By the end of key stage1 (KS1), a good foundation has been laid for the children’s learning. In key stage2 (KS2), the standard of the children’s work, for example, in literacy and numberwork, is sound. The children, particularly in KS2, are not yet challenged consistently enough to achieve the highest standards commensurate with their ability.

2.9Following a period of change, the principal and teachers are developing well their respective roles and agreed ways of working. The school’s development plan is wide-ranging and appropriate in its selection of issues for attention; it requires some amendment, for example, to clarify its priorities, the action to be taken, and what the school is hoping to achieve. The teachers have taken forward effectively certain of the issues included in the plan. Important initial steps have also been taken to monitor aspects of planning and the children’s work; the school is aware of the need to develop further its strategies for evaluation.

2.10The curriculum provided by the school covers all areas of the Northern Ireland Curriculum and makes use of the teachers’ interests and skills. Attention is needed to ensure that the curriculum requirements for geography are met more fully and that, in mathematics, the older children’s understanding of shape is more secure.

2.11This is a happy school which serves its community well. It has significant strengths, such as its caring ethos, its good relationships, its pleasant environment for learning, the dedication and co-operation of the staff, the motivation and exemplary behaviour of the vast majority of the children, sound teaching and the standards achieved by the children in literacy and numberwork. The school is well placed to take forward the matters for attention raised in this report.

3.ETHOS

3.1The school has a strong family atmosphere and sense of community. Those associated with the school demonstrate considerable loyalty to it. The teachers, who are committed and hard-working, know their children well. They are concerned for the children’s welfare and development and create a happy and caring atmosphere in the school. Relationships between the teachers and the children are very good.

3.2The children are pleasant and friendly; most are open and communicative. The vast majority settle to work quickly and are well motivated to learn; they co-operate well both with their teachers and with each other. The behaviour of most of the children is exemplary. The unsettledness of some children in the year1 class places particular demands on their teacher.

3.3The classrooms and public areas are enhanced by displays of the children’s work and photographic records of their activities. The school broadens the children’s experiences through a good range of extra curricular activities, such as basketball, choir and Irish dancing, special projects, day and residential visits and by visitors who come to the school. The children have links with other schools through sport and quizzes.

3.4The school encourages the parents to be involved with the school. Each year opportunities are provided for the parents to learn about the curriculum within their child’s class and to discuss their child’s progress with his/her teacher. Some parents participate in a Paired Reading scheme. The school provides information to the parents about school events and arrangements which affect their children. It reports that the parents and the wider community are strongly supportive of special events such as the Christmas and Leavers performances. The Parents’ Association organises social and fund-raising events and manages an After School Club to care for children in years1 to 3 at the end of their school day. Some parents help the staff with supervision on school trips.

3.5The school has made good progress in moving towards a position which is in line with the Department of Education guidance Circular1999/10, “Pastoral Care in Schools: Child Protection”. The procedures for dealing with child protection are laid out clearly in the school’s policy document; the staff have received training and vetting arrangements are being implemented. There are appropriate procedures for dealing with reported incidents of bullying. The school intends to inform the parents of its Child Protection procedures.

4.QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

4.1The teachers have drawn up whole-school policies and/or schemes of work for most subjects; some of this documentation requires further development. For several other subjects, more substantial work has yet to be carried out to provide sufficient guidance. Individually, the teachers are systematic and mostly thorough in planning their own work; in their written planning, they set out, in varying detail, important elements such as the intended learning outcomes, the content and sequencing of the work and activities and resources to be used. A strong and interesting feature of their work is the extent to which most of the teachers regularly evaluate their planned programmes. The planning cycle could be improved further by focusing more on the standards of learning expected from the children, both in general and more specifically for individuals and groups within classes, and on tracking more closely, in their evaluations, the children’s further development or improvement.

4.2The teachers prepare conscientiously for individual lessons. The quality of teaching observed ranged from fair to very good; overall it was sound or better. The teachers used a variety of teaching approaches and lessons were generally clearly focused and well structured. There were good examples of teachers using imaginative contexts or activities and skilful oral exchanges to stimulate the children’s interest and challenge their thinking. Whole-class teaching was often managed effectively, though, at times instructions were overly extended, for example, at the start of lessons. The vast majority of the children responded well to their teachers, often engaging in their work with enthusiasm, animation and sustained attention. On occasions, some children were less involved in their learning, either because they lacked concentration, or because aspects of their work were insufficiently well matched or managed.

4.3By the end of KS1, a good foundation has been laid for the children’s learning. In KS2, the standard of the children’s work, for example, in literacy and numberwork, is sound. Despite these strengths, the children, particularly in KS2, are not yet challenged consistently enough to achieve the highest standards commensurate with their ability.

4.4The school has identified information and communication technology (ICT) as a priority for development and a teacher has been trained to lead this work. Audits have been carried out, members of staff have undergone training, and a programme has been drawn up for the use of ICT across the classes. Several teachers regularly use computers in planning for their own classes. The children use ICT in various ways, particularly for word-processing, but also, for example, to explore shape, enter information in a database, produce graphs, carry out research, create a newspaper and use a simple spreadsheet. The school recognises the need for much more extensive use of ICT to enhance and extend the children’s learning.

4.5The school is developing its work across the community in education for mutual understanding (EMU). An EMU co-ordinator has been appointed and the school has appropriate links with a special school and a local controlled primary school. In addition, the teachers widen the children’s awareness of the needs of others through their classroom work, their involvement in events in the local community and in the way they involve the children in supporting a wide range of charitable causes, including those in the developing world. Although there are no co-ordinators for the other educational themes, the school is steadily developing its work in these themes in a variety of ways, and in several curriculum contexts. For example, the children’s knowledge and awareness of cultural heritage is encouraged through consideration of Celtic mythology, Irish dancing, life in the recent past, and through access to aspects of other cultures including Indian. Health education is promoted particularly within science and physical education (PE). The children are made aware of the need for hygiene, exercise and a healthy diet, of the dangers associated with electricity and substance abuse, and of what to do if they were to be worried or lost.

4.6Some 5% of the children have been identified as requiring special help, mainly in English. Of this group, some 2% are catered for through specific arrangements, involving withdrawal from class to work with the school’s special needs co-ordinator, or to work with a member of the North Eastern Education and Library Board’s (NEELB’s) support service. The needs of the remainder are responded to largely in class through additional attention from the class teachers supported as required by other staff. The school has prepared a special educational needs policy which highlights appropriately the early identification of those children who require additional help, the need for links with theparents, and the use of screening and other forms of testing. Educational plans have been prepared for the children involved. The school has approached the issue of special needs in a systematic and effective manner, including a recent audit of the nature and quality of provision. The teachers are aware of the needs of the children involved and respond to these in a conscientious manner. Good attention is given to recording the progress of these children and the evidence held by the school demonstrates that they are making satisfactory or better improvement. The school’s focus within special needs is directed to the relatively small number of children who require additional help in aspects of English or mathematics. The school also has children of high, or relatively high, ability; consideration should be given to meeting their particular needs in a more systematic and structured manner.

4.7The school makes provision in a reception class for children admitted to the school following their fourth birthday. The children enjoy a well-organised and varied programme incorporating free play and activities directed by the teacher. Class routines are well established. The children are very settled in their work and sustain their interest and attention. They have good opportunities, for example, to explore and be creative, to respond to music and to develop an awareness of print, number, shape and colour. Their paintings and models demonstrate a high degree of imagination and concentration.

4.8In KS1, the children have regular sessions of structured play. Their teachers provide a good variety of activities, often linked to class themes or to learning in other areas of the curriculum. They have opportunities to observe, to be imaginative and creative, and to develop manipulative, social and computing skills. The teachers ensure that the children’s experiences are suitably varied, and allow them a degree of choice in their activities. Most of the children concentrate and co-operate well and, at times, encourage each other. The extent to which the teachers use the activities to develop the children’s ideas and understanding is variable; at best, they are used well. The teachers’ move towards greater co-ordination of their planning and record keeping in structured play is appropriate, for example, to promote suitable progression in the children’s learning.