HMI Education 8-12 (1985)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Contents, Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The content of the curriculum
Chapter 3 Personal and social education
Chapter 4 Provision for children with special needs
Chapter 5 Planning, assessment, continuity and liaison
Chapter 6 The management and organisation of the teaching
Chapter 7 The main characteristics of the schools
Chapter 8 Some issues for discussion
Appendices Inspection procedures, background to the schools, Statistical notes, HMI schedules
Index

A survey by HM Inspectors of Schools (1985)

London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1985
© Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Chapter 7 The main characteristics of the schools
[pages 64 - 72]

7.1 This chapter gives a summary of the main characteristics of the work of 8 to 12 year olds In the 5 to 12 combined and 8 to 12 middle schools inspected and offers some recommendations based on the findings of the survey.

7.2 Almost all the schools were successful in fostering a sense of community. The teachers showed care and concern for the general welfare of their pupils. (1) Discipline problems were rare and pupils worked steadily and carefully through the programme of work which was provided, in many schools the heads' leadership was influential in developing cohesive communities. Arrangements were made for parents to discuss children's progress. (2) Contacts with parents and other members of the local community were often made, for example, when celebrating religious festivals. Many schools provided clubs and activities for pupils beyond the normal school day. A significant association was found between the overall quality of children's work and the quality of pastoral care and adult-child relationships. (3) All the schools where pupils produced good quality work in most areas of the curriculum were among those schools in which the pastoral care and relationships between adults and pupils were good or very good. In nearly all the schools with good standards of work and of pastoral care, clear leadership from the head and deputy was a marked feature.

7.3 Most subjects were taught by class teachers in the first and the second year [now Years 4 and 5]. (4) In many of the schools older pupils were taught by their class teachers for a substantial proportion of the week but were taught by other teachers in areas such as arts and crafts, French, home studies, music and science. In some cases such arrangements involved the deployment of teachers as specialists teaching particular subjects to a number of classes and in others involved the exchange of classes, within year groups to allow teachers to share their particular skills and interests. Most often, children were taught in mixed ability classes, but there was some setting in some subjects, particularly in mathematics and, to a lesser extent, in English, French and science. (5) No association was identified between setting in English and mathematics and the quality of pupil's work in these subjects. Many schools had special arrangements, such as withdrawal groups, for pupils with special educational needs. Only one school was streamed throughout and two schools employed streaming for the older pupils only. (6)

The curriculum

7.4 In general, most schools offered a satisfactory range of subjects. All schools included English, mathematics, science, arts and crafts, physical education, music and work in humanities as regular components of the programme of work. (7) Children worked on topics or projects related to areas such as social and environmental studies in about four fifths of the schools; in 10, history and geography were timetabled separately for all children. Religious education was included in the curriculum in all the schools, usually through assemblies and lessons specifically devoted to the subject. French was offered at some stage in over four fifths of the schools, usually to older pupils. Aspects of craft design and technology were taught in about half the schools, often as part of a combined area of study. Home studies was taught in 39 schools, either as a separate part of the curriculum or as an aspect of topic work.

7.5 There were differences between schools in the proportion of time spent on each of the various subjects or areas of the curriculum. (8) In about half the sample the allocation was judged to be reasonable, but in the remainder there was some imbalance, usually because of the amount of time devoted to English and mathematics at the expense of other areas, especially French, science and music. English occupied between a quarter and a third of available time and on average mathematics took up about one fifth of the timetable. There were considerable variations between schools as to the proportion of time given to these areas, for example, one school spent twice the time that another gave to mathematics. However, within the range present in the schools inspected there was no evidence to suggest that the amount of time spent on either English or mathematics was a crucial factor in influencing standards of work. Aspects of humanities, whether separate subjects such as history and geography or combinations such as social or environmental studies, took up between a tenth and a fifth of the timetable. Arts and crafts, and also physical education, usually occupied approximately one tenth of the time. Music was given about 5 per cent of the timetable. There was some variation in the extent to which science was included as a separate subject or subsumed under other timetable headings. Nevertheless, in many cases too little time (less than 10 per cent) was given to this aspect of the curriculum. The majority of the schools offered French to children in some year groups: there were variations in the time allocated and in the length of lessons.

7.6 There were also differences in the extent to which schools timetabled subjects separately. Work in humanities, science, health education, craft, design and technology, home studies and needlecrafts was sometimes included as separate subjects or sometimes under more general headings such as environmental studies or arts and crafts. In about half the schools art, home studies, and aspects of craft, design and technology appeared as part of rotational patterns of timetabling (9) in which children worked for a period of perhaps a term at one activity before moving on to another. Such patterns were often introduced to make optimum use of the accommodation available. The survey did not reveal any clear connections between standards of work and the presence or absence of subject combinations or rotational patterns.

7.7 Nearly all the schools were involved in some form of curricular planning at the time of the inspection. Schemes of work (10) which had been produced varied in quality and in the extent to which they influenced the programme of work adopted by the teachers. In some subjects, for example mathematics, textbooks or commercial programmes were highly influential in affecting the work. More than two thirds of the schools had teacher-devised schemes for mathematics, English, science and aspects of humanities; about half the schools had schemes for music, physical education, needlecrafts and art and design. Twenty-seven of the 40 maintained and voluntary controlled schools where religious education was inspected, had schemes of work; in some cases, the local education authority agreed syllabus formed the scheme, while in others the agreed syllabus had been supplemented by the school's own guidelines.

Schemes for French, health education, home studies and craft, design and technology had been drawn up in about a quarter of the schools. Often the teacher who had designated responsibility for a particular subject or area of the curriculum had drawn up the scheme in consultation with the head, though in some cases, the scheme had resulted from a working party led by a local education authority adviser. A significant association (11) between the quality of the scheme of work and the quality of pupils' work was found in art, history, geography, science, music, physical education and needlecrafts. There were some examples of good quality schemes which were influential but few of the schools had a comprehensive set of curricular guidelines based on agreed overall aims and objectives.

7.8 The teachers used a variety of techniques to assess pupils' progress including regular observations of children during their normal class work, short teacher-devised tests, class or school examinations and standardised tests of attainment in language and mathematics. Assessment (12) was mainly used to appraise children's level of achievement and only occasionally used by the staff as a means of evaluating a particular programme of work. Children's work was usually carefully and conscientiously marked. Most marking of written work concentrated on grammatical and spelling inaccuracies or on neatness of presentation; far less often did it focus on children's understanding of the content of the particular subject under consideration. Nearly all the teachers kept careful records of children's progress in reading and mathematics. In other areas of the curriculum, records of children's attainments were less systematic and often consisted of a general comment on annual reports or record cards. There was a need to relate assessment, record-keeping and evaluation more closely to the schools' aims and objectives of the various areas of the curriculum.

7.9 All but a few of the schools gave girls and boys a similar range of opportunities. Although often provided only in the third and fourth year [now Years 6 and 7], home studies was taught to both sexes, but in some year groups in a small number of schools girls did not have opportunities to work with materials such as wood or metal nor did boys have opportunities of working with fabrics. Where similar opportunities were not provided for girls and boys existing curricular provision needed to be reviewed urgently and action taken to remove the differences.

7.10 Overall, the content, level of demand and pace of work were most often directed towards the children of average ability in the class. In many classes there was insufficient differentiation to cater for the full range of children's capabilities.

7.11 Most pupils were industrious and appeared to enjoy their work. They responded readily to the tasks set by the teachers and were generally well-behaved. When given opportunities to take responsibility, show initiative or cooperate with other pupils, they responded readily and successfully. (13) Many schools could usefully review the extent to which the pupils' programmes of work give them sufficient chance to develop these attributes. More frequent opportunities might be given for children to select appropriate materials, frame their own questions and devise their own solutions to problems.

7.12 Fifteen schools had satisfactory or better standards of work for at least two thirds of the areas of the curriculum. Nine schools had satisfactory or better standards in half to two thirds of curricular areas. In thirteen schools the quality of work was satisfactory in a third to half of the curriculum. Twelve schools had less than satisfactory standards for much of their own work; six of these were judged to have a very high proportion of their work which was less than satisfactory.

7.13 Standards were most often judged to be satisfactory in mathematics, English, physical education, science and music. Work was least often satisfactory in religious education, craft, design and technology, home studies, and the geographical aspects of social and environmental studies.

Liaison

7.14 The extent to which liaison between schools was successful depended on a number of factors including the number of schools involved, the relationships established between schools and the priority given to the activity by the heads and teachers. All the schools gave some time and effort to developing links with upper schools. (14) The 8 to 12 middle schools formed links with first schools and the 5 to 12 schools liaised internally between the phases. In three quarters of the survey schools there were teachers with designated responsibility for liaison. It was particularly difficult to establish good liaison where pupils transferred to or from a large number of schools; for example, eight schools received children from between six and ten first schools and five schools sent pupils to eight or more upper schools. (15) When the children transferred between schools it was common practice for schools to complete and pass on the local education authority's record cards often accompanied by the school's own additional records. Almost invariably arrangements were made for pupils to visit their new schools prior to transfer, and teachers from the upper schools often visited the middle or combined schools before the pupils transferred. Schools were particularly concerned to ease the difficulties which might be experienced by children with learning or behavioural problems.

7.15 Liaison between the schools involving discussion about the content of the curriculum (16) received less attention than contacts involving visits by pupils. Discussions with first school staff about mathematics, English or remedial work had taken place in about half the sample. Discussion with other middle schools were held most frequently in respect of French and science, often through the initiative of local education authority advisers. Liaison with upper schools about science, mathematics, French or remedial work occurred in rather more than half the schools. There were examples of effective curricular planning involving groups of schools where local authority advisers had initiated the activity and had given it continuing support. Though there were promising developments, in general there was a need for teachers in the various phases of schooling to foster greater continuity in the programmes of work provided.

Staffing

7.16 Almost half the teachers (17) in the schools had taken courses of initial training for the primary years and more than a third had followed middle years or junior/secondary courses; (18) the remainder had trained for secondary education. About a fifth of the teachers were graduates of whom just over half held Bachelor of Education degrees. (19)

7.17 The pupil-teacher ratio in individual schools ranged from 1:14.5 to 1:27.0 with an average of 1:21.6. (20) Many schools received additional help from peripatetic teachers, most often for instrumental music tuition or remedial work. Small schools tended to have the more favourable ratios. In other cases a more favourable pupil-teacher ratio was allocated as a result of the particular circumstances of the school such as the recognition of its catchment area as one of social disadvantage. These factors have to be borne in mind when consideration is given to the finding that no statistical association was found between pupil-teacher ratios and the quality of work of pupils aged 8 to 12. (21)

7.18 In deciding how best to deploy staff, headteachers took into account a number of factors including teaching experience and interests, the main subject(s) studied by the teachers during initial training, and in-service courses they had attended. Most often English, art, history and geography were the subjects which had been studied during initial training. (22) Fewer teachers had studied physical education, science, mathematics, religious education, music or French. Every school had at least one teacher with an initial main subject qualification in arts and crafts and another teacher with a main qualification in an aspect of the humanities. Nearly all schools had a teacher who had studied English as a main subject. About three quarters of the schools had one or more teachers who had studied music, mathematics, physical education or science as a main subject. (23)

7.19 A large majority of those teaching 8 to 12 year old children taught most aspects of the curriculum to their class. Just under half the teachers taught some science or music to 8 to 12 year olds; there was rather more specialist teaching of these subjects with older pupils. Only a relatively small number of teachers taught a particular subject other than English for more than a quarter of the week. (24)

7.20 Where heads provided strong leadership, overall standards of work tended to be higher. (25) Heads delegated certain organisational and curricular responsibilities to other members of staff. Various responsibilities were carried by deputy heads, (26) in addition to their teaching contribution which might be as either class or specialist teachers. Just under half the schools had year leaders, (27) who in addition to their class teacher role took responsibility for coordinating the work of particular year groups. Few year leaders had sufficient time away from their teaching to carry out their duties effectively. There was considerable variation among schools as to subjects for which members of staff had designated responsibilities. (28) Music, science, physical education and mathematics each had designated teachers in about four fifths of schools. Responsibility for English was allocated to particular teachers in just under three quarters of the schools and the same proportion applied to art and design, and also to French for those schools which taught the subject. In the vast majority of cases the duties carried out by teachers with curricular responsibilities were in addition to their class teaching. These duties included drawing up schemes of work, organising equipment and materials, advising and, less often, working alongside colleagues and leading meetings to discuss the programme of work. Lack of time, especially for visiting other classes, limited the effectiveness of many such teachers in making this kind of contribution.

Accommodation and resources (29)

7.21 The majority of the sample were housed in former primary school buildings. About a fifth of the schools were in accommodation which was purpose-built. Six schools were in buildings which had formerly housed secondary schools. Adaptations had been made to take account of the change in age range in 34 schools. (30) Attempts had been made in most schools to create attractive learning environments by the display of children's work. Almost all the teaching of English, mathematics and social and environmental studies took place in ordinary classrooms. All but one school had a hall which was used for physical education, but some schools had inadequate changing facilities. In three quarters of schools, there were designated teaching areas for science and for home studies. Half the schools had accommodation for art and slightly fewer than half for music and for craft, design and technology. A lack of suitable accommodation for craft, design and technology prevented a number of schools offering this area as part of their programmes of work. A shortage of storage space presented problems in a number of subjects, particularly in science and music. Many of the designated teaching areas were too small to take full classes, and in some cases the use of these areas for the teaching of a number of different subjects caused difficulties.

7.22 In about two thirds of the schools the overall level of resources (31) was considered to be generally adequate for the work being undertaken with the age group 8 to 12. However, the quantity and quality of provision varied between schools and in respect of different subjects. Statistical analyses indicated that better quality and greater quantity of material resources were significantly associated with higher standards of work. (32) Book provision for English and mathematics was satisfactory in both quantity and quality in about two thirds of the schools; and in about half it was satisfactory for geography, history, science and French. The provision of reference books was least satisfactory for art and design, religious education, craft, design and technology, physical education, needlecrafts and home studies. Equipment and apparatus for physical education, English and science were satisfactory in quality and quantity in about three quarters of the schools.

Footnotes

(1) Paragraph 3.2

(2) Paragraph 3.7

(3) Paragraph 3.2 and Appendix 3 paragraph 8

(4) For convenience the terms 'first year', 'second year', 'third year', 'fourth year' are sometimes used in this report; in each case they refer to the age group 8 to 12. [These are now Years 4 to 7.]

(5) Paragraph 6.21

(6) Paragraph 6.20

(7) Paragraph 6.15

(8) Paragraph 6.16

(9) Paragraph 6.18

(10) Paragraphs 5.1-5.4

(11) The association reported here relates to those subjects where Kendall's Rank correlation coefficients exceeded 0.3 (see Appendix 3, paragraph 12, Table 18).

(12) Paragraphs 5.5-5.13

(13) Paragraphs 3.4-3.6

(14) Paragraphs 5.19-5.20

(15) Tables 2 and 3, Chapter 5

(16) Tables 4-6, Chapter 5

(17) The data presented in paragraphs 7.16 7.18 relate to all teachers in the survey schools, including those teaching the 5 to 8 phase in the combined schools. Paragraph 7.19 refers to the teachers who taught children aged 8 to 12.

(18) Appendix 2, paragraph 7

(19) Appendix 2, paragraph 6

(20) Appendix 2, paragraph 12 and Table 14

(21) Appendix 3, paragraph 3

(22) Appendix 2, paragraph 8 and Tables 12-13

(23) Appendix 2, Tables 12-13

(24) Paragraph 6.9 and Table 9

(25) Paragraph 6.2 and Appendix 3 paragraph 8

(26) Paragraph 6.3

(27) Paragraph 6.4

(28) Paragraphs 6.5 6.7

(29) Throughout the report the term 'resources' refers to material resources, for example, books, equipment and apparatus, consumable materials.

(30) Appendix 2, paragraph 14

(31) Appendix 2, paragraphs 24-28

(32) Appendix 3, paragraph 8