/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education and Training Inspectorate
Report of an Inspection
Glenlola Collegiate
Bangor
Inspected: November 2003

CONTENTS

SectionPage

1.INTRODUCTION1

2.THE QUALITY OF THE PUPILS’ WORK2

3.MANAGEMENT9

4.CONCLUSION9

APPENDIX 111

APPENDIX 212

APPENDIX 313

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1CONTEXT

Glenlola Collegiate is a controlled grammar school for girls situated on the edge of CastlePark near the centre of the town of Bangor. Over the past three years, the enrolment has increased from 1,047 to 1,072 of whom 273 pupils are in the sixth form. A large number of the pupils are from Bangor: the school also attracts pupils from the greater NorthDown area. All of the current year 8 pupils achieved A or B1 grades in the transfer procedure. The school reports that approximately 2.5% of the pupils are entitled to free school meals and that 1.4% of pupils have special educational needs. The school was awarded a Charter Mark for excellence in 1997. The school moved into a new building on a new site in May2003.

1.2FOCUS

The inspection focused on the quality of teaching and learning in science in the junior school, chemistry in the middle and, mathematics and French in the upper school. At whole-school level, the inspection centred on developments in pastoral care including child protection, literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. In addition, the school identified information and communication technology (ICT) as its own priority development area for external evaluation. Discussions took place with the Principal, members of the senior management team (SMT) and members of staff who had responsibilities within the areas of focus. Lessons were observed with a range of classes across all year groups.

1.3BOARD OF GOVERNORS’, PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ RESPONSES

The arrangements for the inspection included the completion of questionnaires by parents as well as meetings with the Board of Governors (BoG) and pupils from years 8, 12 and 14. Of the 212 questionnaires issued, 151 were returned to the Department of Education (DE), 53 of which had written comments. The BoG at their meeting with the inspectors and, almost all of the parents through their response to the questionnaire, were supportive of the work of the school. Almost all of the parents agreed that the school is a caring place with a very high standing in the community; they were supportive of the Principal and the commitment of the teachers. In the parents’ written comments, 50% of the respondents were very positive about all aspects of the school; in the remainder, while many parents were positive in their comments generally, a wide range of specific concerns was identified. All of the parents’ concerns were discussed with the BoG and senior management of the school and most are considered within the body of this report; the remainder including the communication arrangements between the school and the home are under review. The Principal reports that a few of the parents’ concerns, including the need for a school crossing patrol and various accommodation matters, have been addressed to the South-Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB). In their meetings with inspectors, the pupils indicated that they feel secure and happy in the school and they acknowledge the help and support provided by most of the teachers. The inspection findings endorse the BoG’s and parents’ confidence in the school.

1.4EXAMINATION RESULTS

At General Certificate of Education (GCE) Alevel, the pupils’ performance at grades A to E was within 5% points above the corresponding Northern Ireland (NI) average in almost all subjects. At grades A to C over 60% of the subjects were within or above 5% points of the average.

Over the three years ending in 2003 in most General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) subjects, the proportion of pupils obtaining A* to C was within 5% points of the respective NI average for selective schools.

2.THE QUALITY OF THE PUPILS’ WORK

2.1ETHOS

The relationships between the teachers and the pupils are excellent in almost every case. There is a high level of mutual respect between the staff and the pupils, all of whom share a strong sense of loyalty to the school. The pupils are very well mannered and their behaviour in lessons and moving around the school is exemplary. The positive and caring atmosphere, which pervades all of the teaching and ancillary rooms, promotes a high level of participation by the pupils. The study arrangements for sixth-form, including the use of the library and the services of a competent librarian, are excellent. There are attractive displays of the pupils’ work throughout the school. An important feature of the school is the value placed on the pupils’ personal development which is reflected in the good range of extra curricular activities.

2.2PASTORAL CARE

In key stage (KS)3, the pupils have a programme of personal, social and health education (PSHE) taught in a weekly timetabled period. The content of the programme is appropriate and covers a range of topics that are relevant to the pupil’s development, including relationships, drug education, sex education, and study skills. The school makes good use of external agencies to support the teaching of PSHE across the year groups. In KS4 and sixth form, the programme is delivered through each form class one morning each week. While the content of the taught PSHE programme has been carefully chosen, the extent of coverage of the topics is constrained by the limited time available. Assembly promotes effectively the pastoral dimension of the school with many of the themes chosen based on current pastoral issues.

2.3The school’s pastoral care policy is in line with the DE’s Circular 1999/10 “Pastoral Care in Schools: Child Protection”. All staff have received appropriate in-service training on child protection matters. The documentation and procedures are good, providing staff with clear guidance and support. There is evidence of the school implementing procedures effectively and efficiently when necessary. More use could be made of the school’s website to disseminate further policy information to parents.

2.4Form tutors monitor the pupils’ work closely throughout the year. Parents are kept informed of their children’s progress through formal and informal meetings and written reports. The self-esteem of the pupils is promoted by recognising their achievements in the presentation of awards for academic success, effort, improvement and their contribution to the school and community through the merit system. The school has developed an excellent peer support programme that develops positive relationships across year groups and promotes a sense of responsibility with the sixth form pupils.

2.5The heads of sections, heads of year and form tutors work co-operatively to support the pupils. Members of the pastoral team are available for pupils at all times. Parents are appreciative of the high quality of pastoral provision. The pastoral team work hard to fulfil their obligations to the pupils and to the school. The pupils express confidence that most staff will respond sympathetically and appropriately to their concerns.

2.6The induction programme for the year 8 pupils is effective. Before the start of the academic year, the new pupils and their parents meet the relevant form tutors and key members of staff. The form tutors spend time with the new pupils to give them information about school procedures and to ease their transfer to the school. The year8 pupils have a clear understanding of the procedures they are to follow if they have any concerns.

2.7SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

The school has identified a small number of pupils in need of special learning support. The teacher with responsibility for the special educational needs (SEN) provision is committed to supporting the pupils and has established appropriate and sensitive arrangements to ensure that the staff are informed of their pupils’ learning needs.

2.8OVERALL PLANNING, TEACHING AND LEARNING

There is a comprehensive range of documentation in place to guide the teaching. The teachers are very hard-working and most are anxious to ensure that their pupils achieve high standards of success in external examinations. The subject departments have begun individually to evaluate the quality and range of experiences provided. This work is in the early stages of development and should be progressed systematically and recognised explicitly in the school development plan.

2.9The quality of teaching observed was sound on all occasions, often it was good and at times it was excellent. In the best practice observed, in a minority of lessons, the learning outcomes were stated clearly, the work was challenging and differentiated appropriately for the more able pupils. In these lessons, the pupils were confident to interact with the teacher often providing extended oral answers to interesting and challenging questions. These teachers enjoy excellent relationships with their pupils often sharing humour in their lessons within a purposeful structured learning environment. In contrast, in a minority of lessons observed, the pace of the lessons was too slow; the teachers often lectured the pupils and used a small range of limited questions, which too often elicited short responses of a factual nature. In some classes, the amount of transcription given and the constraints of working within work-books prepared by the teacher, limited significantly the range and the quality of the learning experiences.

2.10LITERACY

Literacy has been identified as a whole school priority area for development. The school’s policy sets appropriate aims and establishes a strategy for the realisation of the targets, which in the short term concentrate on talking and listening. While all departmental documentation reflects the whole school aims, some departments have identified approaches to language, which include reading and writing skills. Good planning in some departments identifies tasks, which promote and support the pupils in writing and presenting information in different forms and contexts. In the best practice observed, the teachers use a range of approaches including whole-class work, discussion groups, individual and group presentations and role-play to provide extended opportunities in reading, writing, talking and listening and encourage language development. The quality and standard of the pupils’ written English is good generally; more opportunities for extended discussions to refine or develop ideas should be provided.

2.11The hard-working school librarian is committed to fostering a love for reading, independent learning and research skills. During the inspection, the library was used well for designated reading periods and for independent research.

2.12NUMERACY

The numeracy policy sets out effective procedures to ensure consistency in the methods for the promotion of numeracy throughout the school. A useful numeracy audit was conducted to map the progression of skills across the curriculum and to establish links between the subjects. The policy has been disseminated to all departments together with valuable guidance on the implementation of the school’s numeracy strategy at KS3 and KS4. At department level, the existing good practice of integrating numeracy within the schemes of work is being developed further through the heads of department forum to enable the numeracy strategy to be monitored and evaluated at a whole-school level.

2.13INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

The school has identified appropriately ICT as a whole-school priority for development and has taken advantage of a number of initiatives to improve significantly the resources for ICT. The staff have embraced positively the training for ICT; all have completed successfully the new opportunities funded (NOF) ICT training course and speak supportively about their experiences and the high level of assistance and guidance provided by the training staff. The school plans to provide further training for Classroom 2000 (C2K) and initiate opportunities for staff to continue to develop their skills in ICT at certificate and diploma level.

2.14The ICT provision at KS3 is well organised through discrete timetabled ICT lessons which support and integrate effectively the delivery of ICT through the specific subjects. A suitable audit in year8 was carried out to identify the needs of the pupils and to provide a baseline to monitor and evaluate the pupils’ progress. In the discrete ICT lessons, the pupils use a series of helpful booklets to guide and structure their use of appropriate application software and Internet browsing software. In the lessons observed, there was a good balance between teaching ICT skills and their creative application to provide some relevant opportunities to extend the more able pupils. To enhance further the discrete ICT provision, the pupils should have increased opportunities to use multimedia software to introduce sound and moving images. The planned work in the discrete ICT classes is sequenced to match the progression of ICT in subject specific classes. There are appropriate procedures in place through the heads of department forum and through the co-ordinators for ICT to allow teachers to make relevant contributions to the timing, content, skills and applications of ICT in the discrete ICT classes. As departments develop further their ICT provision, it is planned appropriately that the discrete ICT classes will no longer be necessary and that pupils will experience a seamless transition from KS2 to KS3 through a cross curricular approach.

2.15Almost all departments contribute to the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) KS3 Scheme of Information Technology (IT) Accreditation; this has strengthened the integration of ICT across the subjects in KS3. In 2003 all pupils achieved level6; the school is making good use of this information to inform future planning.

2.16At KS4, the pupils use an appropriate range of application software to enhance the presentation of their coursework. They use ICT effectively to present, calculate and analyse data. Also at KS4, an increasing number of pupils are studying GCSE ICT reflecting the improved status and success of the subject within the school.

2.17All sixth-form pupils study for the key skills accreditation in ICT. A good start has been made and most pupils obtain level2: there are appropriate plans to extend this further and provide opportunities for an increasing number of pupils to enter for level3 accreditation. The key skills course is delivered currently as a stand-alone unit; there are some good opportunities being created to integrate the ICT assignments with the pupils’ subject coursework at AS and A2 level. In year14, the pupils are making effective and appropriate use of the Internet to complete and submit their Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) application forms online.

2.18KS3 SCIENCE AT KS3 AND CHEMISTRY IN YEARS 11-14

The inspection focused on the junior science taken by pupils in years8-10, and on chemistry in years11-14, studied as part of GCSE double award science course or as a separate subject at GCSE or GCE A level. The GCE A level chemistry course is a popular option in the sixth-form. Useful extra-curricular scientific opportunities are provided for some of the pupils through the astronomy and science clubs, and through their participation in the Socrates “Comenius1” project: the supervision of these extra-curricular activities by the teachers demonstrates their commitment to the pupils and to the study of science within the school.

2.19The departments are ably led by their respective heads of department, the teachers work well together within their respective teams. The quality of much of the departmental guidance for the learning and teaching of junior science and chemistry is good. Policies and other information are helpfully set out in a departmental handbook. The written documentation for junior science contains a well-structured development plan which identifies areas for improvement and includes the development of the pupils’ literacy and ICT skills. This practice could be extended usefully; both departments should consider drawing up a brief development plan which identifies targets for improvement linked to specified success criteria, and based onan audit of the teachers’ views of the identified strengths and priorities for action. The guidance provided in both subjects is in need of some clarification regarding the range of written and other resources to be used by the pupils, the most appropriate teaching strategies matched to particular lessons, the intended learning outcomes and the specific ICT work to be completed.

2.20The quality of teaching observed in junior science and chemistry ranged from satisfactory to excellent; the quality of teaching was excellent in just over one-third of the chemistry lessons and in just over one-fifth of the junior science lessons. In the best practice observed, the teachers used a variety of imaginative strategies which allowed the pupils to work with a wide range of written resources, think critically and develop a range of note-making skills. The learning outcomes expected were emphasised appropriately at the start, during and at the conclusion of the lessons. The pupils had many opportunities to develop their initiative and independence; they benefited from and enjoyed a mixture of whole-class, group and individual activities. In this excellent practice, the teachers planned for and managed oral work well; the ensuing classroom discussions were of a high standard, the pupils gave extended responses which demonstrated their excellent understanding of the scientific concepts and content taught. With clear guidance from the teacher, the pupils had many opportunities to read and write independently. This excellent practice, seen in both the junior science and chemistry departments, needs to be disseminated across all of the classes and is the main priority for development in both departments.