Education and Training Inspectorate
Report of a Focused Inspection
Friends’ School Preparatory Department
Lisburn
Inspected: April 2002

BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Friends’ School Preparatory Department is situated in attractive surroundings, near the centre of Lisburn and draws most of its children from the town and a wide surrounding area. The enrolment is presently 156 children, none of whom are entitled to free school meals.

1.2 The inspection focused on English, information and communications technology (ICT), and on the school’s arrangements for pastoral care, including child protection.

1.3 As part of the inspection process, meetings took place with the Board of Governors and with parents; a total of 28 parents and governors attended. The parents’ views on aspects of the life and work of the school were also sought by means of a confidential questionnaire. Just over 70% of the questionnaires were completed and returned. In these responses, the governors and almost all of the parents expressed strongly their satisfaction with the work of the school. The responses highlighted, in particular, the hard-working teachers, the good leadership of the Head of the Preparatory Department, the good standards being achieved, and the caring ethos where care and attention are given to the individual child. The few reservations expressed by a minority of parents in the questionnaire returns related largely to the arrangements used to inform them about how the school deals with child protection matters. The inspection findings endorse the positive views of the parents and governors; the very few points raised by the parents are dealt with in the body of the report.

2. SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

2.1 Relationships at all levels within the school are good and the children work within a caring ethos in which they are valued. The behaviour of the children is exemplary. The Head of the Preparatory Department and teachers are hard-working and committed, and have created an ordered and stimulating environment for teaching and learning. The school places a strong emphasis on the Quaker ethos of its founders and, as part of this, encourages the children to respect the views of others. Throughout the inspection a caring ethos and mutual respect were evident.

2.2 The children take a pride in their work and respond readily, and in an articulate manner, to visitors. The interior of the school is greatly enhanced with displays of the children’s work and with photographs which record aspects of school life. The children’s writing, particularly independent writing of a very good standard, is celebrated through attractive displays in the corridors and in all of the classrooms. There is a good range of computer-based work on display. The standard of caretaking is very good and the school secretary makes a valuable contribution to the work of the school.

2.3 The quality of teaching seen during the inspection was always satisfactory; it was very good or excellent in nearly all of the classes. In all of the classes, the children have high expectations of themselves and this is reflected in the high standards achieved in English by nearly all. In the lessons seen, they responded with interest to the range of experiences offered.

2.4 The whole-school documentation which guides most aspects of the work is comprehensive and of a good quality. There are useful policies and schemes of work for English and ICT. The school’s written guidance for English is detailed and clear and reflects fully the requirements of the Northern Ireland Curriculum (NIC). Under the guidance of the literacy and ICT co-ordinators, the school is reviewing and developing further its guidelines for English and ICT. The school has identified and is addressing appropriate priorities in English and ICT, for example, the further development of the children’s writing skills across the curriculum.

2.5 In English, the work is developing well. Nearly all of the children reach good standards which are in line with their abilities; most of them are sophisticated users of language and produce independent writing of a high standard. The most effective teaching observed was characterised by good integration of talking and listening, reading and writing.

2.6 In most classes, talk is used effectively to promote learning. In both key stages, there are extensive opportunities for the children to share ideas as they work in pairs or small groups. This includes occasions when key stage (KS) 1 children participate in “Circle Time” discussions. In KS2, and in subjects such as science and geography, there is evidence of teachers using skilful questioning to allow the children to reflect on, refine and extend their ideas.

2.7 In all the classes, the children are encouraged to develop a strong interest in books; they have participated recently in a “Readathon” to raise money for charity. The school has well-stocked class libraries and attractive reading areas which are frequently used by KS1 and KS2 children. Reading is taught using a commercial scheme which is complemented well by the appropriate use of a range of novels towards the end of KS1 and throughout KS2. The teachers read regularly to the children and, in the best practice observed, they help them to respond imaginatively to reading activities through structured discussion or writing. In a few instances, where the lessons lacked appropriate pace and challenge, there was too great an emphasis on the completion of tasks rather than on the achievement of learning outcomes. The children in KS2 read for a variety of purposes, and they access reference material from a range of relevant sources to assist their learning in other subjects. As part of the school’s focus on improving standards of literacy, reading has been identified appropriately as a priority for development.

2.8 In both key stages, the children write for a wide range of purposes and audiences. In most classes, writing tasks are appropriately challenging and stimulating, there is evidence of good preparation prior to writing and the children are provided with sound advice on how to improve the quality of their written work. The younger children are encouraged to express and record their ideas and feelings, often with the effective support of the teacher. By the end of KS1, most of the children have written letters, reports, imaginative stories and poems. In KS2, there are well-planned opportunities for the children to write independently and in a range of contexts. The children make good use of dictionaries and thesauri to enhance their use of language. In KS2, effective use is made of the computer to compose, edit and redraft work. While the children are increasingly applying their skills as writers in subjects across the curriculum, this is an aspect of the work that needs to be developed further.

2.9 ICT has been identified as one of the two major priorities in the current school development plan. A programme of staff development, as part of the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) ICT training for teachers, is presently underway. The use of ICT to support the children’s learning across the curriculum is developing well. The children benefit from many purposeful opportunities to use and apply ICT in a variety of contexts in KS1 and KS2.

2.10 In most of the lessons seen, the children made good use of ICT, including the computer, for a wide variety of purposes. In the best practice seen, in about half the classes, the children used ICT well to research and retrieve information for different areas of the curriculum, and to compose and edit work on screen. The computer is used well during structured play in years 1 and 2. In year 5, the children use the data projector linked to a laptop for independent writing purposes. During the inspection, the children in years 5, 6 and 7 were observed effectively using the Internet link in the computer suite of the adjacent grammar school for a variety of purposes and in a range of contexts. For example, the year 6 children used the Internet to search for information for specific purposes on a topic on the Vikings. The children in year 7 selected and used appropriate layouts for presenting combined information on an article “A Victorian Scullery Maid”. Overall, the children have well-planned opportunities to work independently and in collaboration with others, and, by the end of KS2, they display a good level of competence and confidence in their use of ICT.

2.11 The written planning for ICT needs to identify more clearly the specific opportunities which the children will have to use ICT to support and enhance their work across the curriculum. The teachers would benefit from whole-school guidance which outlines the expected progressive development of the children’s ICT skills. The school is well placed to continue the good progress which has been made.

2.12 Structured play is an important part of the curriculum for the children in years 1-3. In the lessons seen, the children acquired important social skills and enhanced their learning in English and ICT through the structured play programme. Many of the play activities were integrated effectively with work in other topics. In the best practice, the teachers and classroom assistants interacted well with one another and with the children to support and promote appropriate language, skills and understanding. There is a need for better progression in the children’s structured play experiences; accordingly, the written guidance needs to be developed, in particular to provide clear, succinct guidance on the progression of the structured play programme in years 1-3.

2.13 The school sets a high priority on the children’s pastoral care. The older children are encouraged to care for and support the younger children. A “House System” is used well to encourage team spirit and co-operative working. In classes and in school assemblies, the teachers make appropriate use of praise to encourage the children and foster their self-esteem. In most classes, the teachers make good use of merit schemes and other incentives to promote and reward good behaviour and to encourage positive attitudes towards work. This is having a positive impact on the children’s motivation and work in class. The school should consider developing the merit system further to ensure that it is applied more consistently across all of the classes.

2.14 The teachers follow an agreed policy for pastoral care which supports the development of each child’s self-confidence and concern for others. Sensitive emphasis is given to the children’s pastoral care through the display of posters in corridors and classrooms. The school has in place appropriate procedures for most aspects of child protection, in line with the guidance given in the Department of Education’s Circular 1999/10. There is a need, however, to ensure that all of the parents are given clear and adequate information about the school’s procedures for child protection.

2.15 The parents are encouraged to be involved in the life of the school. They are invited to attend meetings with the teachers throughout the year and they are informed of their children’s educational progress in formal reports twice a year. Regular newsletters inform parents about school events. There is an active Parent-Teacher Association which organises fund-raising and social activities for the school. Parents assist with school trips and with a range of extra-curricular activities. The arrangements for assessing and recording the children’s progress, and for reporting to the parents are appropriate and effective. While there is good evidence that most of the teachers use the findings gained from assessment to inform their teaching for individuals or groups, this good practice needs to become more consistent in all the classes.

2.16 Through teacher observation and standardised testing, the school identifies clearly those children who are in need of additional support in English. A small number of children in year 2 experience most difficulty in English; they are assisted through the Reading Recovery programme and the quality of this support is very good. The Reading Recovery teacher provides weekly support in literacy and numeracy for children in years 3-7, working closely with the relevant class teacher to create an effective programme of support, tailored to the children’s individual needs.

2.17 The teachers are working well as a team under the good leadership of the Head of the Preparatory Department. She manages well all aspects of the life and work of the school. She works hard, is very committed to the staff and the children, and she promotes a caring ethos for all within the school. Throughout the recent development of literacy and ICT within the school, the work of the literacy and ICT co-ordinators have been of a high quality. The school has already identified for action the few priorities highlighted in this report.

2.18 The school has drawn up an appropriate development plan, which sets out clearly, a range of objectives for the medium and longer term. A sound start has been made in implementing arrangements for monitoring aspects of classroom practice. These arrangements now need to be developed further, in particular to use first-hand evidence gained from monitoring to inform the teaching and to improve further the learning. The inspection findings endorse the school’s plans for the further development of English and ICT.

2.19 The school has many strengths which include good leadership, a caring ethos, the hard-working teachers, the exemplary behaviour of the children and the excellent teaching seen in most classes. The quality of education provided in this school for the areas under focus is good. The needs of the children are being well met.