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.

Annex B: HMI schedules
[pages 206 - 219]

1 For the purpose of this survey HM Inspectors made their assessments in accordance with agreed schedules. These schedules listed a wide range of activities likely to be found in primary schools, so that a record of what was done in a variety of individual classes could be made and in order that the material could subsequently be dealt with statistically. The schedules were the same for all 7, 9 and 11 year old classes and regardless of the special circumstances of the school. It was not expected that any individual class would undertake activities relating to all the items listed in the schedules but that teachers make a selection from these according to the age and abilities of the pupils and the particular circumstances of the school. Six schedules were used, covering the following aspects of the work and organisation:

a. aesthetic education, including art and crafts, music and physical education

b. language and literacy

c. mathematics

d. experimental and observational science

e. social abilities, including history, geography and religious education

f. the organisation and methods of working including some aspects of the general provision in the school which influenced children's work.

Scales and 'match' assessments

2 To enable HMI's assessments and observations to be quantified, a number of scales were used. The following are examples of these scales.

i. The extent to which children made use of book collections or libraries as a starting point or resource to develop and extend language, whether spoken, written or through reading was recorded on a scale which referred to over-use; an appropriate level of use; under-use; no evidence of use; not used.

ii. The quality of book collections or libraries was assessed as good; generally good but some poor areas; generally poor but some good areas; poor; or no evidence.

iii. The emphasis given to practical activities involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division was recorded on a scale which referred to overemphasis; appropriate level of emphasis; underemphasis; no evidence; not given attention.

iv. The extent to which opportunities were taken to develop singing as an aspect of musical experience was recorded as taking place to a significant degree; to an insignificant degree; no evidence; or not given attention.

3 In assessing emphasis or significance HMI based their judgement on what experience has shown to be reasonable for children of a given age and ability. For example, in assessing whether opportunities were taken to develop gymnastics, dance, games or swimming to a significant degree, HMI took into account not only the age of the children and the time devoted to these activities but also other indicators such as the available resources, the pace of the work and the pupils' involvement and application.

4 The degree of 'match' between the standard of work the children were doing and that which they were considered by HMI to be capable of doing, as judged by their performance at the time of the inspection, was recorded in the following categories:

5 HM Inspectors made their assessment on the basis of the observation of the work in progress, the inspection of previously completed work including the work in children's exercise books, discussions with teachers and talking with children. The assessments were made separately for the more able, average and less able groups of children within each class as identified by their teachers.

6 Over-expectation was evident where children made too many mistakes and appeared to lack confidence; the level of the work was too difficult for the children and was remote from their previous experience and existing skills and knowledge; tasks set were beyond the understanding of the children and called for the mastery of skills and techniques which required a degree of sophistication that the children had not acquired. Over-expectation often led to children becoming discouraged and tentative in their approach to their work.

7 Under-expectation was recorded where there was evidence that the work required of children was too easily achieved and did not make appropriate demands on the children's developing capacity to observe, discriminate or make informed choices. Where there was insufficient stimulus in the tasks presented to the children the pace of work was sometimes slow because of boredom and easy distraction, or rushed because it required little thought; there was often a lackadaisical approach to the work, poor presentation and slipshod errors. In some cases the range of work was narrow and undemanding and children were not being introduced to skills and techniques which would normally be mastered by children at that age and level of ability. Under-expectation often took the form of children being required or allowed to repeat work already understood or mastered instead of being challenged by new skills and ideas.

8 A reasonably satisfactory match was recorded when there was evidence of ordered and planned progression building on existing knowledge and skills and leading to the acquisition of further skill, information or understanding. The tasks presented to children required the use of an appropriate range and variety of books and materials and there was evidence of increasing skill in recording observations and in the ability to discriminate and to evaluate evidence. Where a reasonably satisfactory match was achieved children were normally confident in their work and not afraid to make occasional errors which they regarded as a stimulus to further effort; children displayed a sense of purpose in their work and appeared to enjoy the challenge of increasing, though realistic, demands made upon them. Many children gained satisfaction from the mastery of new skills and techniques and often displayed considerable persistence in achieving standards which satisfied themselves and their teachers.

SUMMARY OF SCHEDULES

9 The following summarises all the factors referred to in the HMI Schedules for the inspection of the survey classes.

Aesthetic and physical education

i. Art and crafts

1 The extent to which children make use of the following starting points and resources in the development of aesthetic awareness: the immediate outdoor environment, arrangements and displays inside the school and the classroom, natural and man-made objects, a range of media for two and three dimensional work, visits to local art galleries, exhibitions or museums, visits by local craftsmen or artists.

2 The quality of the following resources: the arrangements and displays within the classroom including man-made objects, a range of media for drawing and print-making, materials and textiles, three dimensional constructional materials.

3 The emphasis given to art and crafts within the whole curriculum.

4 Evidence that children are learning to observe carefully in relation to form, texture, pattern and colour.

5 Evidence that children may turn readily to paint, clay or other media when they have something to express which is personal to them.

6 Evidence of the use of form, texture, pattern and colour in children's work.

7 Evidence that children are learning to select materials with discrimination.

8 Evidence that the children are learning to handle tools, apparatus and materials carefully and safely and with a sense of fitness for their purpose.

9 The use made of drawing and modelling techniques and skills to record observations or information in other areas of the curriculum.

ii. Music

10 The extent to which children make use of the following starting points and resources for musical experience: recorded music, television, radio, untuned and tuned percussion instruments, visits to concerts or to hear outside choirs, visits to the school by musicians.

11 The emphasis given to music within the whole curriculum.

12 The extent to which opportunities are taken to develop singing, listening, the learning of notation and creative music-making as aspects of musical experience.

13 The quality of the songs chosen.

14 The extent to which music is related to other areas of the curriculum.

15 The provision for children in the class to play musical instruments.

iii. Physical education

16 The extent to which children make use of the following starting points and resources for physical education: television, radio, gymnastic equipment of all kinds, games equipment and associated small apparatus.

17 The emphasis given to the full range of movement activities within the whole curriculum.

18 The extent to which opportunities are taken to develop gymnastics, dance, games and swimming within the range of physical activities.

19 Evidence that the children are developing skilful performance in gymnastics, skill in games or a games-like context, awareness and sensitivity in the use of expressive movement.

Language and literacy

1 The extent to which children make use of the following starting points and resources to develop and extend their language, whether spoken, written or through reading:

a. experiences out of school which have not been planned by the school

b. experiences in school including the display of materials and objects, the keeping of animals and plants, imaginative play, constructional activities

c. book collections or libraries

d. television, radio, cine film, slides, pre-recorded material for listening, tape recordings by the children

e. reading schemes and courses, assignment cards, language course kits, textbooks

f. stories and poems read or told by the teacher

g. visiting speakers

h. the immediate outdoor environment, visits and school journeys.

3 The extent to which opportunities are taken to develop the language used in other areas of the curriculum.

4 Evidence that children are being taught to do the following: follow instructions, follow the plot of a story, listen to poetry, comprehend the main ideas and the details in information they are given, follow a discussion or the line of an argument and contribute appropriately.

5 The emphasis given to talking between the children and teachers, and the children and other adults.

6 The emphasis given to informal discussion among children during the working day and the provision of more formal, structured arrangements for discussion and exchange between children.

7 Evidence that children are encouraged to expand their spoken responses, that new vocabulary is introduced, that the use of more precise description is achieved, that children are helped to frame pertinent questions and that children are taught to use alternative and more appropriate structures in their talking.

i. Reading

8 Evidence, where appropriate, that children's own speech is used to provide early reading material.

9 Evidence that the children's own writing is used as part of their early reading material.

10 The emphasis given to reading practice with main reading schemes and supplementary readers.

11 The emphasis given to the reading of fiction and non-fiction related to curricular work and other reading not related to curricular work.

12 The emphasis on the use of extended reading skills and children's comments on the material read.

13 The emphasis on the selection of books by the children themselves.

14 Evidence that children learn to turn readily and naturally to books for pleasure and that they use books with ease and confidence as a source of information.

15 Evidence that the children read poetry and that some of the children discuss books at more than a superficial level.

ii. Writing

16 The emphasis given to self-chosen and prescribed topics for children's writing.

17 The emphasis given to self-chosen and prescribed topics related to other curricular areas.

18 The extent to which the following are used: copied writing, dictation and handwriting practice.

19 The extent to which descriptive, expressive, narrative and expository styles or modes of prose writing are used by the children.

20 The extent to which descriptive, expressive and narrative styles or modes of poetry writing are used by the children.

21 Evidence that the children's writing is used for the following purposes: to share information or experience with other children, as samples of work used by the teacher to monitor progress, as a basis for learning language, spelling, syntax and style.

iii. French

22 Where French is taught, the number of sessions and total time per week which is spent on this subject.

Mathematics

1 The extent to which children make use of the following starting points and resources in the learning of mathematics:

a. television and radio

b. textbooks, commercial and school-made work cards

c. investigations arising from questions asked by the children or initiated by the teachers

d. practice of skills directed from the blackboard.

3 Evidence of profitable links with other areas of the curriculum.

4 The emphasis given to the following aspects of mathematics during the current school year:

a. qualitative mathematical description; unambiguous description of the properties of number, size, shape and position

b. recognition of relationships and logical deduction applied to everyday things, geometrical shapes, number and ordering

c. appreciation of place value and recognition of simple number patterns (eg odds and evens, multiples, divisors, squares etc)

d. appreciation of some broader aspects of number (eg bases other than 10, number sequences, tests of divisibility)

e. use of various forms of visual presentation (eg three dimensional and diagrammatic forms, statistical charts, tables of data, networks etc)

f. use of models, maps, scale drawing etc

g. use of algebraic symbols; notations such as 'box' and arrow diagrams

h. sensible estimation and use of measurements of length, weight, area, volume and time

i. understanding of money and sense of values regarding simple purchases

j. quantitative description; sensible use of number in counting, describing and estimating

k. practical activities involving the ideas of +, -, x and ÷

I. suitable calculations involving +, -, x and ÷ with whole numbers

m. examples involving four rules of number including two places of decimals (as in pounds and pence and measures)

n. calculations involving the four rules applied to the decimal system

o. use of fractions (including the idea of equivalence) in the discussion of everyday things

p. competence in calculations involving the four rules applied to fractions.

1 The extent to which children make use of the following starting points and resources in learning science:

a. children's experience out of school

b. experience of materials, plants and animals in school

c. television and radio

d. reference books, textbooks, commercial and school made assignment cards

e. the immediate outdoor environment.

3 The emphasis given to science within the whole curriculum.

4 The quality of assignment cards, reference books and materials available for scientific investigation.

5 Evidence of investigations arising from questions asked by the children.

6 Evidence that the children are using description arising from direct observation.

7 Evidence that the children are learning about the following:

a. notions of stability and change in relation to living things and materials

b. knowledge of some of the characteristics of living things including differences and similarities

c. reproduction, growth and development in succeeding generations

d. forms of energy sources and storage

e. factors which influence personal and community health, including safety

f. respect and care for living things.

Social abilities

i. Social, moral and religious education

1 The extent to which situations are planned to encourage the development of moral and ethical values in the following aspects:

a. the use of initiative and making informed choices

b. the exercise of responsibility and self-assessment in behaviour and work

c. emotional development and sympathetic identification with others

d. respect for other people

e. respect for plants and animals

f. respect for things

g. contribution and participation as a member of a group

h. the exercise of qualities of leadership.

3 The extent to which children learn about man's attempt to frame religious and moral or ethical rules and values in the following aspects of their work:

a. history and geography

b. the Old and New Testament

c. writings of other religions

d. myths and legends

e. other literature and drama.

4 The extent to which children make use of the following starting points and resources to develop historical and geographical awareness:

a. the memories of people known to the children

b. artefacts, historical documents and the use of historical aspects of the local area

c. historical programmes on television and radio

d. history textbooks, work cards or assignment cards

e. stories with an historical setting

f. history reference books

g. weather study

h. use of geographical features of the local area

i. geographical programmes on television and radio

j. geography textbooks, work cards or assignment cards

k. stories with an interesting geographical setting

l. geography reference books.

6 The quality of history and geography reference books.

7 The emphasis given to developing children's awareness and appreciation of the past.

8 The extent to which children are becoming aware of historical change and the causal factors in relation to people's material circumstances, the way people behaved and the things people believed in the past.

9 The degree to which children are engaged in the following activities:

a. understanding the nature of historical statements

b. developing sympathy with the predicament of other people

c. developing an awareness of the need for evidence.

11 The degree to which the following geographical aspects were included in children's work during the current academic year both within and outside the locality:

a. population and settlements

b. agriculture and industry

c. transport

d. geographical land features

e. natural resources.

13 Evidence that children are becoming familiar with maps of the locality, atlases and globes.

Organisation and methods of working

1 The emphasis given to cognitive, social, emotional and physical development as judged by the quality of the children's work.

2 The degree to which posts carrying particular organisational or curricular responsibilities influence the work of the school as a whole.

3 The extent to which didactic and exploratory approaches to teaching were observed in the survey classes.

4 Evidence of effective interaction between the basic skills of numeracy and literacy and the more imaginative aspects of the children's work.

5 Evidence that children are encouraged to follow a sustained interest in the course of their work.

6 The extent to which a quiet working atmosphere is established when this is appropriate.

7 The degree of control over the children's use of resources in the classroom.

8 The degree to which the content of the children's work is prescribed by the teacher.

9 Evidence that satisfactory educational use is made of spontaneous incidents which may arise.

10 The attention given to creating an intellectually stimulating environment inside and outside the school.

11 Evidence that vandalism outside school hours limits the creation of an aesthetically pleasing environment.

12 The extent to which the accommodation facilitates or inhibits the children's work.

13 The extent to which the adequacy of resources facilitates or inhibits the children's work.

14 Type of catchment area and whether there is evidence of marked social difficulties.