VSSE Report
Summary of St Martin’s Primary School VSSE (School Inspection) report for parents and learners, June 2009
Introduction
The validation was carried out by a team of four validators, who spent three days in school observing and talking with pupils, looking at their work, engaging in discussions with staff and parents, and looking at school records and documentation.
Main findings
The validation confirms that the school has a highly accurate understanding of how well it performs and what it needs to do to improve further.
Pupils develop excellent personal qualities at St Martin’s and make good academic progress. The school’s exciting and innovative curriculum has been very successfully developed to advance pupils’ basic skills while promoting their self-confidence and independence. There is an excellent climate for learning in the school. Pupils are well taught and greatly enjoy their learning. They feel safe and secure because the school takes very good care of them. The school is an extremely harmonious community because staff have instilled in pupils secure moral values that lead them to care for and support each other. The school is moving forward strongly with exceptionally clear direction provided by the headteacher and her senior team. Pupils sum things up by saying: ‘We just love it here!’
Outcomes for learners
Pupils are very well prepared for later life. They are highly motivated, achieve well and flourish as confident individuals with excellent personal qualities. All groups of pupils make good progress and by Year 6 pupils attain standards which are high across all subjects and well above island averages. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary and contribute significantly to their strong achievement. Their extremely good behaviour means that they can get on with their learning in the classroom, and they co-operate very well with others to solve problems. The structured teaching of phonics has secured very high standards of reading and writing in the Reception classes and across Key Stage 1. Pupils’ information and communication technology (ICT) skills are used very effectively in school and at home to develop their learning.
A distinguishing feature of the school is the excellence of the pupils’ personal development as they grow into self-confident, responsible and socially active young people. Pupils’ speak confidently to adults and their peers on a wide range of issues. Through their excellent participation in class and school councils, they are assured that in the school their voice is heard. They take on responsibilties readily, and work very effectively in teams and partnerships. Pupils participate actively in the wide range of activities on offer. Their enthusiasm for the wide range of sports on offer makes a strong contribution to their healthy lifestyles.
The quality of provision
Teaching makes a very strong contribution to pupils’ great enjoyment of school and to the good progress they make. Lessons are well planned to take account of the full range of pupils’ needs. Teachers make very effective use of resources, including ICT, to support and enthuse pupils. The assessment of their own work and that of their peers is helping pupils to develop strongly as independent learners. The curriculum has been developed very successfully to improve pupils’ skills and capabilities in line with the Guernsey Curriculum Statement. In particular, the development of enquiry-led learning in many subjects is developing pupils’ confidence and independence, as well as their capacity to work in teams to investigate and explore. A wide variety of trips, visits and extra-curricular activities further stimulates pupils’ enjoyment of school and contributes to their excellent personal development.
The supportive and inclusive atmosphere is second-to-none and is seen in pupils’ happy faces, exemplary behaviour and developing confidence as they grow up into young people who are extremely well prepared for their future lives. The high level of awareness of the needs of each child ensures that all receive an exceptional quality of care, guidance and support. Good assessment systems give pupils a clear understanding of how they can improve each piece of work, and the school is working to develop these still further.
Leadership and management
The school is given exceptionally strong direction by the headteacher. She is particularly skilled in developing leadership qualities among her staff, and involving the ideas of all members of the school community in developing the school. The way the school evaluates its own performance and uses its understanding of its own strengths and weaknesses to plan for improvement is a model of good practice. Highly effective leadership and management have brought about very strong improvement in the school since the last validation. The school clearly has excellent capacity to sustain and build on its strong performance.
Reception Stage
Pupils get off to a very good start in the Reception classes. In particular, they develop very good relationships and learn to read and write very well.
Main areas for school improvement
While the school is working very effectively in all areas, it recognises that there are still improvements that can be made, in particular in assessment. For example, the excellent way in which assessment information is used in some classes to help teachers plan and to show pupils how to improve needs to be shared more widely across all classes.