HMI Primary Survey (1978)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Contents, Foreword
Chapter 1 The national survey
Chapter 2 The schools and the teachers
Chapter 3 The classes: organisation and arrangements affecting children's work
Chapter 4 The curriculum: planning and continuity
Chapter 5 The content of the curriculum
Chapter 6 The curriculum: scope and standards of work
Chapter 7 Associations between characteristics of the schools and classes and aspects of the children's work
Chapter 8 The main findings, issues and recommendations
Annex B HMI schedules
Index

A survey by HM Inspectors of Schools (1978)

London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1978
© Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Chapter 3 The classes: organisation and arrangements affecting children's work
[pages 20 - 35]

i. ORGANISATION OF CLASSES

3.1 The ages of the children are always an important factor to take into account when arranging children in their classes. One practice, commonly adopted, is to arrange each class so that it contains children born during one school year and, if the school is large enough, there may be two or more classes in each year group. Some schools, though apparently large enough to arrange classes in year groups, have classes with mixed age groups. Other schools are small and have to combine children from two or more age groups in order to form each class. Figure 6 shows how common these three kinds of class arrangements were in the survey schools.

3.2 The schools that were apparently large enough to form classes of one age group but did not do so fell into three categories. Some had classes with a majority of children from one school year group and a small number from another age group. Generally these were schools where the year groups were more than ordinarily uneven and the mixture of age groups made it possible to even the sizes of the classes. In the second category were schools which had classes with a substantial number of children from each of two age groups. The remainder were schools which had classes with a substantial number of children from each of three or more age groups. Classes in these last two categories are usually referred to as vertically grouped classes; they may be the result of organisational convenience or of a deliberate policy decision within the school. A system of vertically grouped classes is sometimes adopted in infant schools and departments to avoid the necessity of moving children to a new class during the course of the school year. Such moves are more likely when new children are admitted to school at the beginning of the spring or summer term as well as at the beginning of the school year. The incidence of 'mixed age' classes is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 6 Arrangement of children in the survey classes (all figures percentages)

Figure 6a Classes arranged in single age school year groups

Figure 6b Classes arranged as mixed age classes where schools were too small to allow single age school year groups

Figure 6c Classes arranged as mixed age classes where schools were large enough to allow single age school year groups

Figure 7 Arrangement of children in classes where schools were large enough to allow single age school year groups but chose not to

Figure 7a Majority of children of one school year group with a few of a different age (all figures percentages)

Figure 7b Children from two school year groups with significant numbers from both age groups

Figure 7c Children from three or more school year groups with significant numbers from at least three age groups

3.3 In very few schools were classes streamed according to ability. About a third of schools were large enough to be in a position to stream, and of these less than a fifth did so. Younger children were the least likely to be in streamed classes and only about one in twenty classes of 11 year olds was streamed, see Table 12 in the Annex to this Chapter.

3.4 Some schools arrange small permanent classes for children who find learning difficult. These classes were not included among those inspected for the purposes of this survey.

ii. CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENTS IN THE SURVEY CLASSES

3.5 Since the classes in the survey were mainly of mixed ability, and sometimes vertically grouped, it is to be expected that teachers would employ a range of methods to cater for the wide range of abilities and interests of children within a single class. Most of the teachers in the survey classes grouped children in various ways for some part of their work. These groups varied according to the subject being taught or the kind of activity being undertaken and were usually formed or reformed for particular purposes or according to the needs of the moment, see Table 13.

3.6 The grouping of children within a class according to their abilities occurred most frequently for the teaching of mathematics; in this subject the sequence of learning is fairly clearly defined and teachers generally recognised the need to present children with tasks which were matched to their competence. Nearly three quarters of the classes were grouped by ability for their work in mathematics. Over half the 9 and 11 year old classes and nearly two thirds of 7 year old classes were grouped by ability for reading and, in fewer classes, for writing. In these aspects of language work readily identifiable skills are being taught and teachers are clearly concerned to present children with tasks at the right level of difficulty.

3.7 Children were rarely grouped by ability for their work in any other area of the curriculum. Individual assignments of work, whether presented directly by the teacher, from a graded reading book, a textbook or a work card, were also used in a considerable majority of classes for the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics, see Table 14.

Figure 8 The percentage of all classes grouped by ability for mathematics, reading and writing

3.8 Mixed ability, 'shared interest' or 'friendship' groups were most commonly used in the teaching of art and craft, physical education and science, see Table 15. In these subjects a range of specialised materials, apparatus and equipment is used. This often leads to the adoption of a type of organisation which allows different activities to take place at the same time within a shared working space whether in the hall, classroom or elsewhere; this makes it possible to employ a wider range but a smaller quantity of apparatus or materials than if every child has to have equipment of a similar type at the same time. Boys and girls were not usually separated for any aspect of their work in 7 year old classes. In 9 and 11 year old classes some separation occurred for craft and physical education. (1)

3.9 About half the classes in the survey regrouped with other classes for some part of their work. In the case of 9 and 11 year old classes this occurred most frequently for music, craft and physical education where access to specialised equipment or to areas such as playing fields or swimming baths was essential and, in some cases, these arrangements enabled some exchange of teachers to take place. Seven year old classes were regrouped less often than the older children, mainly for music and language work. This probably reflects the occasions when vertically grouped classes were reformed so that children of about the same age could be drawn together for storytelling and discussion and also when classes combined for singing or for a story session, see Table 16.

3.10 A variety of arrangements was adopted to help the less able children, the most common being the withdrawal of individuals or groups of children to work with another teacher. In a fifth of the classes cooperative working by the teachers enabled the regrouping of two or more classes to take place and special attention to be given to the less able pupils. This method also occasionally enabled some teachers to give particular attention to groups of the exceptionally able children; these pupils were rarely withdrawn from the normal class to be given special help, see Table 17.

iii. DEPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS

3.11 The arrangement whereby a class teacher is responsible for the teaching of the whole, or the major part of, the curriculum of his or her class is often regarded as the traditional form of organisation for teaching in the primary school. This form of organisation undoubtedly makes heavy demands on the individual teacher, particularly as children grow older and their learning covers a wider and deeper range of knowledge and skills in ail areas of the curriculum.

3.12 Over three quarters of all the classes in the survey were taught for some of the time by teachers other than their own class teacher, excluding peripatetic teachers. The oldest children were the most likely to be taught by other teachers, particularly for music, physical education and English language. The proportion of classes taught by three or more other teachers also increased with the age of the pupils. A third of 9 year old and two fifths of 11 year old classes were taught by three or more teachers in addition to the class teacher, see Table 18.

3.13 Peripatetic teachers (2) worked with children in nearly half the 11 year old classes and in two fifths of 9 year old classes; for the most part they taught individual children or small groups to play stringed instruments, or took small groups of children or individuals for reading tuition, see Table 19.

3.14 While the majority of classes were taught for at least some of their time by teachers other than their own class teacher, the range of work for which this provision was made was mainly limited to music, English language and physical education, see Table 20. More than a third of 7 year old classes and over half the 9 and 11 year old classes were taught by another teacher for music and about a third of the older classes were taken for physical education by another teacher. A quarter of 7 year old classes were taught only by their own class teachers. Children were rarely taught by another teacher for a period exceeding five hours during the course of a week; even at 11 years over a third of the classes were taught for less than two hours a week by a teacher other than their own class teacher, see Table 21.

Figure 9 The percentage of classes visited by peripatetic teachers

iv. ADDITIONAL ADULT HELP

3.15 Non-teaching paid adult helpers assisted teachers in just over half of the 7 year old classes in the survey. About a fifth of 9 and 11 year old classes also received this kind of support, see Table 22. Of those affected about a fifth of the 7 year old classes received such help for 6 hours or more per week while nearly half 9 and 11 year old classes received less than one hour. At all three ages, but particularly in classes of 7 year olds, schools in 'other urban' areas did not receive as much assistance as schools in inner city and rural areas.

3.16 Parents helped teachers in nearly a third of the 7 year old classes and in just under a fifth of 9 and 11 year old classes. The proportion of classes receiving parental help was lower in the inner city areas than in 'other urban' or rural areas. Typically, where parental help was given, an average of two parents a week visited the class. In over three quarters of the classes where help was given parents assisted teachers in matters concerning the children's welfare and in the supervision of children on visits outside the school. Teachers reported that parents were also involved with children's learning in over two thirds of the classes where help was given. This type of involvement most commonly took the form of assisting with practical subjects or hearing children read, see Table 23.

v. APPROACHES TO TEACHING

3.17 A quiet working atmosphere was established in nine out of ten of the classes whenever it was needed.

3.18 It is clear from the evidence that a variety of types of organisation was used in arranging the work of the classes. Generally, the organisation was designed to provide satisfactorily for children of different attainments and abilities, to accommodate various types of work, including practical work, and to take advantage of the resources and teaching strengths available within a particular school.

3.19 Teachers also varied their own approach to teaching according to the circumstances, and in the course of one lesson a variety of approaches might be used. For this reason it can be misleading to categorise teaching methods. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this survey two broad approaches to teaching were postulated. They were defined as 'mainly didactic' and 'mainly exploratory'. A didactic approach was one in which the teacher directed the children's work in accordance with relatively specific and predetermined intentions and where explanations usually, though not always, preceded the action taken by the children. An exploratory approach was one in which the broad objectives of the work were discussed with the children but where they were then put in a position of finding their own solutions to the problems posed and of making choices about the way in which the work should be tackled. The scope and timescale of the tasks involved were likely to be flexible and the path of the work was likely to be modified in the light of events; explanation by the teacher more often accompanied or followed action taken by the children.

3.20 In the survey classes about three quarters of the teachers employed a mainly didactic approach, while less than one in twenty relied mainly on an exploratory approach. In about one fifth of the classes teachers employed an appropriate combination of didactic and exploratory methods, varying their approach according to the nature of the task in hand, and could not be said to incline to either approach.

3.21 in only about one class in twenty was too little guidance given to children about what they should be doing. When this occurred children were uncertain of what was required and this could lead to aimless activity and lack of progress. In the majority of classes, however, the content of children's work and their use of resources was prescribed, sometimes to the extent that there was insufficient opportunity for the children to incorporate information and ideas of their own or to make use of spontaneous incidents which arose.

3.22 The impetus for extended studies which involved children over a period of time could arise from the children or be introduced by the teacher. An example of the former arose in an 11 year old class where a boy's interest in butterflies and moths began when his class was taken out to study a meadow. The boy used a sweep net to catch and examine insects and other small animals living in the long grass. Among the creatures he caught were two meadow brown moths and he noticed their colouring was not identical. This led him to look for colour variation among other butterflies and moths, to examine wing scales under a microscope and to rear caterpillars found on some nettles. During this work the boy referred to several books to help him with identification of species, kept careful notes and made detailed drawings of all he saw. Subsequently, the teacher acquired some eggs of the Assam moth and the boy reared them successfully, having the satisfaction of seeing one imago emerge from a pupa.

3.23 Evidence of this kind of work was available in about one class in ten. A good example of an extended study by a group of children, introduced by the teacher, was seen in a 7 year old class where the teacher had introduced a topic on water, following the interest aroused in the children by a burst water main outside the school gate. In the course of the work, children examined a number of different aspects of the subject including rusting, floating, sinking, water levels, rates of flow, the importance of water to plant and animal life, and where their own supply of drinking water came from. The work involved discussion, writing, drawing and practical experiment, and culminated in a visit to a local reservoir.

3.24 In this case the teacher used a combination of didactic and exploratory approaches, sometimes introducing the work with discussion and explanation, occasionally following up a point of interest raised by a child and sometimes presenting the children with a practical problem to be investigated. The problems posed were usually specific and predetermined, concerned, for example, with the investigation of properties of corrosibility and buoyancy or the effects of water pressure; explanations preceded, accompanied or followed the children's activities, with the teacher varying her approaches according to the needs of the moment.

Annex to Chapter 3

All the data in the tables are weighted. (3)

Table 12 The incidence of streaming by ability in the survey schools

Table 13 The patterns of grouping adopted within the survey classes

Table 14 Percentage of classes using individual assignments of work

Table 15 Characteristics used for grouping children for work in individual subjects for all classes

Table 16 The incidence of regrouping with other classes

Table 17 Patterns of school organisation designed to cater for less able and exceptionally able children

Table 18 Percentage of classes taught by teachers other than own class teacher

Table 19 Percentage of all classes with children taught by peripatetic teachers for reading and stringed instruments

Table 20 Percentage of all classes taught by teacher other than own class teacher by subjects

Table 21 Percentage of classes taught for given number of hours per week by teacher other than own class teacher

Table 22 Percentage of classes receiving non-teaching adult help

Table 23 Percentage of classes receiving voluntary parental help and the activities undertaken

Footnotes

(1) See Chapter 5v, paragraphs 95 and 105.

(2) The data on peripatetic teachers are based on part of the sample only. See Annex A Section 6 Paragraph 4.

(3) See Appendix D