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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

Education 8 to 12 in Combined and Middle Schools

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.

Appendices

On this page:
1 Inspection procedures
2 Background to the schools
3 Statistical Notes
4 Summaries of HMI schedules

Appendix 1 Inspection procedures
[page 82]

1. Inspection teams were made up of HMI drawn from different parts of England and arrangements were made, similar to those adopted in other surveys, to ensure a reasonable consistency of approach and evaluation. Detailed schedules (1) to be used during the visits were prepared by working groups of phase and subject HMI.

2. Each inspection team comprised specialists in subject areas as well as inspectors who had specialist phase knowledge of the 5 to 12 age range. Prior to the inspection each school provided information about accommodation, staffing, organisation, records, resources, and children with special needs. Work was inspected in ail aspects of the curriculum normally offered to children of the age range. Inspection of a school took place over a period of one week and the number of inspectors was related to the number of pupils in the school. The smallest schools were visited by 4 HMI, the largest by 7. Towards the end of the inspection discussion of the main findings took place with the head. A meeting with the school governors followed and subsequently an inspection report was issued to the head, the governors and the local education authority.

Footnotes

(1) For summaries of these see Appendix 4

Appendix 2 Background to the schools
[pages 83 - 93]

INTRODUCTION

1. The size of the schools in the survey varied considerably, from the largest school with 585 pupils on roll to the smallest school with 99 children. Approximately one fifth of the schools were in purpose-built accommodation, almost three quarters in former primary buildings and the remainder in former secondary schools. All schools were coeducational and all had been open for 4 or more years with either the 5 to 12 or 8 to 12 age range only. Thirty-three of the schools taught children aged 8 to 12, and 16 taught children from 5 to 12.

2. The illustrative sample comprised 35 county schools, 9 voluntary aided schools and 5 voluntary controlled schools. Of the 25 LEAs whose schools were in the sample, one local authority had 5 schools in the survey and 5 authorities each had 3 schools; the remaining 19 authorities had one or two schools in the survey.

3. The catchment areas from which the schools drew their pupils were predominantly rural in 4 cases, predominantly urban in 37 and mixed in the remaining 8. Three of the schools had been designated as Social Priority Schools. The number of upper schools to which pupils transferred varied from one to 11.

4. For the purpose of the survey, the schools were divided into three broad size bands based on the number of pupils on roll at the time of the inspections. A school described as 'small' had fewer than 241 children on roll; a 'medium sized' school had from 241 to 480 pupils and a 'large' school had over 480 on the register. There were 17 'small', 29 'medium-sized' and 3 'large' schools in the sample.

THE TEACHERS AND OTHER STAFF

5. Most of the teachers in combined and 8 to 12 middle schools were employed as full-time members of staff. Of the remainder, some taught part-time and others were peripatetic or visiting teachers, who worked in a number of schools. In the schools there were 696 teachers (1) of whom 67 were part-time. Seventy-two per cent of the teachers were women. Ten of the 49 heads were women.

6. Nineteen per cent of the teachers held graduate qualifications, and of these, just over half held Bachelor of Education degrees. Graduate status was more common among recently qualified teachers, because of the replacement of the Certificate of Education by Bachelor of Education degree programmes.

7. Forty-eight per cent of the teachers in the sample had taken primary years initial training courses, 38 per cent had taken middle years and 14 per cent had taken secondary or other courses. There was a considerable variety in the phase training background of teachers holding special responsibilities. Six of the deputy heads had trained for the early years, though no headteacher, senior teacher or year coordinator was so trained; this reflected the fact that some deputies coordinated the work of younger children in combined schools. Just over half the headteachers in the survey had received training for the junior/secondary age, a further third were trained for the primary phase and almost all the remainder had trained for the secondary phase.

8. The teachers in the survey had studied one or more main subjects as part of courses leading to the award of first degrees or certificates in education. Table 12 shows the number of teachers who studied main subjects related to broad areas of the curriculum such as humanities, arts and crafts and to specific subjects such as music and mathematics. Table 13 subdivides this information into constituent subjects of the curriculum and indicates the number of teachers having an initial main subject. All schools had at least one teacher who had studied a main humanities subject, with history and geography as the most common of the individual humanities subjects. All schools had at least one teacher with a main subject in the area of arts and crafts. Five schools were without a teacher who had taken English as a main study, though in all 168 teachers had taken such a course. Fourteen schools had no teacher with main mathematics and the same number had no member of staff with main science. The tables show that initial main subjects of teachers in the survey were weighted towards arts/humanities areas. Most teachers would also have followed a range of professional and education courses in addition to their main subject(s) during initial training and so would have undertaken some study of mathematics, English and other subjects.

9. In addition to initial courses, some teachers had undertaken further studies. Six per cent of teachers had taken educational diplomas and a further 7 per cent had been awarded first or higher degrees.

10. Teachers in schools are paid on a series of salary scales rising from Scale 1 to Scale 4 and to senior teacher, deputy head and head. Just over one third of teachers in the survey were on Scale 1 and a similar number on Scale 2. About one seventh of the teachers were on Scale 3.

11. All the heads, all except four of the deputies and all senior teachers had been teaching for more than 10 years. All Scale 3 teachers except two had more than 5 years experience. A quarter of the Scale 1 teachers had between 5 and 10 years experience and a third of the Scale 1 teachers had taught for more than 10 years. There were 6 probationers in the sample.

12. For each school, the overall pupil-teacher ratio was calculated by dividing the numbers of pupils on roll by the total teaching staff including the head and part-time teachers, (2) but excluding peripatetic teachers. In the sample as a whole the pupil-teacher ratio ranged from 14.5 to 27.0, the mean being 21.6. Table 14 shows pupil-teacher ratio by size of school and indicates that smaller schools tended to have more favourable pupil-teacher ratios than larger schools. (3)

13. All schools had clerical assistance and this was full-time in 20 schools. Thirty-two of the schools had a non-teaching ancillary helper and 8 schools had a paid library assistant for at least half a day a week. One school had a full-time library assistant. In a small minority of schools ancillary help was provided for one or more of swimming, arts and crafts, needlecrafts, home studies, science and audio-visual aids. Occasionally, voluntary unpaid help was available to assist in these activities.

Table 12 Curricular areas and subjects related to which teachers had taken main subjects in initial training (5 to 12 combined and 8 to 12 middle schools)

Table 13 The constituent subjects of curricular areas taken by teachers as main subjects in their initial training (5 to 12 combined and 8 to 12 middle schools)

Table 14 Pupil-teacher ratio by size of school (5 to 12 combined and 8 to 12 middle schools)

ACCOMMODATION

14. 10 of the 49 schools in the sample were purpose-built. Thirty-two schools were housed in former primary school buildings, six in former secondary accommodation. One school occupied modified primary and secondary buildings. Adaptations to take account of the change in age range had been carried out in 34 schools. All except one of the schools had a hall and all but seven had some form of library accommodation. Just over half the schools had separate dining facilities.

15. Table 15 shows the number of schools which had designated teaching areas for work in particular subjects or areas of the curriculum. Most teaching took place in ordinary classrooms. All or almost all the teaching of English, mathematics, history and geography occurred in ordinary classrooms. Some special facilities were available for physical education in all but one school, and in three quarters of schools for science and for home studies. Half the schools had designated teaching areas for art, and almost half had areas for music and for craft, design and technology. Of the 43 schools offering French, 14 had some form of special accommodation.

16. The only school without a hall or gymnasium rented the facility from the parish council, so all pupils in the survey had the use of a hall or gymnasium for physical education. This accommodation was often also used for other activities such as assembly, music or dining. In 37 schools this accommodation was considered to be satisfactory. Adverse features included inadequate space, or restrictions in the use of space because of the storage of dining furniture and/or apparatus. In seven schools the floor was unsuitable for some forms of physical education. Just over half the schools had changing facilities for pupils, but in many cases these were insufficient to cater for a whole class group. In many schools pupils had to change in classrooms, cloakrooms or toilets. In the majority of schools lack of showering facilities inhibited the development of sound habits related to personal hygiene.

17. Three quarters of schools had accommodation which was partially or completely designed or modified for use as science teaching space. The use of the special science areas was often limited to older pupils. Areas which had multiple uses formed a high proportion of the provision: for example, sharing an area with home studies frequently prevented the study of living organisms in science. Quite often the science area was designed to accommodate half classes or groups. Water and mains electricity services were available in all areas and mains gas in a large majority. Low voltage electricity was provided in about a quarter of the areas. Storage facilities were poor in about two thirds of schools.

18. In over three quarters of the schools there was some special provision for home studies; in about half of such schools the accommodation was shared with one or more practical subjects; these included science, art, needlecrafts, and craft, design and technology. Work surfaces, sinks and facilities for storage were often used jointly with other practical subjects. !n the 15 schools where special facilities for needlecrafts were provided these were usually only available to the oldest pupils.

19. Twenty-one schools had designated teaching areas for art and five others had provision for ceramics only. The special accommodation was adjacent to, or formed part of, the craft, design and technology area in eight schools. The suitability of the provision varied considerably as did its availability. In ten schools special art accommodation was available only to pupils in the fourth year.

20. Accommodation provided for work in craft, design and technology also varied considerably. In 13 schools the subject was taught in ordinary classrooms with some adaptations. Designated teaching areas were provided in about two fifths of the sample.

21. No school had a purpose-built music room, but ten schools had rooms which had been converted as special music rooms. In a further nine schools classrooms used for music had been appropriately adapted and resources provided for teaching music. The subject was also taught in ordinary classrooms, open-plan areas, the hall or dining areas; many of these lacked adequate storage facilities or had poor acoustics.

22. Geography, history or environmental studies was usually taught in ordinary classrooms, where there were adequate working surfaces and facilities for displays. A small number of year groups used a hall or one classroom for key lessons, filmstrips or television broadcasts. Although there was often convenient access to the school grounds and locality, these were insufficiently used for geographical and historical studies.

23. The range and the quality of accommodation varied greatly between schools. Many of the special teaching areas were multi-purpose; in some cases they were used only by older pupils and accommodated only small groups or half classes. These factors often presented organisational problems for the schools.

RESOURCES

24. In about two thirds of the schools resources were considered to be generally adequate for the work being undertaken with the eight to twelve age group at the time of the inspection, but in many there were deficiencies in one or two aspects of the curriculum. Table 16 gives information about the quantity and quality of books provided for the various subjects and Table 17 gives similar information about the provision of equipment.

25. Book provision in mathematics and English was satisfactory in both quantity and quality in about two thirds of the schools. It was also satisfactory in about half of the schools for geography, history, science and French. In just over one third of schools, book provision for music was adequate, but for physical education, art, religious education, craft, design and technology, needlecrafts and home studies, fewer than a quarter of schools had book provision which was satisfactory in quantity and quality for work in the particular subject.

26. In approximately three quarters of schools there was equipment which was satisfactory in quantity and quality for physical education, English and science. The least well equipped subjects were home studies and craft, design and technology. To supplement the provision of books and equipment and to provide more appropriate work for their pupils, teachers in many of the schools prepared their own teaching materials.

27. All schools had a record player, filmstrip/slide projector, typewriter and duplicating equipment or photocopier. Almost all schools had a film projector, overhead projector, tape recorders and radio. Thirty eight schools had colour television and 22 had black and white television. Twenty one schools had a video tape recorder. Twenty five schools had a camera and ten possessed a cine-camera.

28. Statistical associations were found between the quality of work produced by the children and the quality and quantity of books in geography, science and music; similar associations were found in respect of equipment and apparatus in art, music, physical education, French, home studies and needlecrafts; other associations found were with consumable materials for art, science, mathematics, home studies and needlecrafts. In each case, better resources were associated with higher standards of work.

Table 15 The number of schools which had designated teaching areas - by subject

Table 16 The number of schools having (a) adequate quantities of books, (b) books of satisfactory quality and (c) books, satisfactory in quality and quantity.

Table 17 The number of schools having (a) adequate quantities of equipment, (b) equipment of satisfactory quality and (c) equipment satisfactory in quality and quantity.

Footnotes

(1) In this chapter, the term 'teachers', unless otherwise stated, refers to all teaching staff including heads, but excluding peripatetic teachers. The figures given refer to all such teachers including those teaching children in the five to eight age group in combined schools.

(2) In calculating pupil-teacher ratios, part-time teachers were converted to the full-time equivalent fraction for which they were paid.

(3) The data in Table 14 relate to all teachers in the survey schools, including those teaching the 5 to 8 phase in the combined schools.

Appendix 3 Statistical Notes
[pages 94 - 99]

1. The 49 schools included in this survey illustrated the wide diversity of 5 to 12 combined and 8 to 12 middle schools in the country but they did not constitute a statistically representative sample. As a result of this and because of the relatively small numbers involved, the statistical analyses should be treated with caution. It is likely that only relatively strong associations will appear as statistically significant in a sample of this size. Weaker associations which may hold for all 5 to 12 and 8 to 12 schools may not appear statistically significant in this sample. Furthermore certain characteristics which only occur in a minority of 5 to 12 and 8 to 12 middle schools may have occurred so seldom in this survey that they cannot be tested for association with other factors. These notes provide further details of the associations commented on in this report and of the statistical tests used.

2. For each school 15 dependent variables were used reflecting the standards of work achieved. These variables were the average of the grades (1) awarded for each age group and ability level in each of the 14 separate subjects which are shown in Table 18, and for each school the overall score calculated as the average of these grades.

3. In the statistical analysis, a number of independent variables were used to see if they were associated with the overall standards of work achieved in the schools. (2) They included pupil-teacher ratios, the number of pupils on roll and the average class size. None of these variables proved to be significantly associated with the schools' overall scores. (Failure to find statistical significance does not necessarily mean that no associations existed. However, it is likely that any such associations with the schools' scores were weaker or more subtle than those established for the three major variables identified at the end of this paragraph.) Several definitions to create a measure of the degree of specialist teaching were investigated. It was found that the amount of specialist teaching in the organisational pattern of the schools was so small that it was not possible to carry out statistical analysis using specialist teaching as a factor. No suitable variable was found which could be included in respect of the age ranges for which the teachers were trained. In addition, no satisfactory variable could be derived for the overall quality of schemes of work since on average, the schools had schemes for only about half the subjects. Three major variables were found to be statistically associated with the schools' overall scores. These were the quality of pastoral care, the quality and quantity of resources, and the strength of the head's influence.

4. In each school, assessments on a five point scale ranging from very good to very poor were made of the quality of pastoral care. There were separate assessments for each of the four age groups 8 to 12 and these grades were averaged to provide an overall rating for pastoral care in respect of the school as a whole. Similarly, assessments of the behaviour of children towards one another and towards teachers were made and the average was calculated for each school.

5. Each inspection team was asked to comment on the influence of the head upon the school. The strength of that influence was subsequently rated on a three point scale: strong influence, moderate influence and little influence.

6. Assessments of the quality and quantity of resources were made for each of the 14 subjects. A three point scale was used for quality and a four point scale for quantity. Five types of resources were separately assessed: books, teacher prepared materials, commercial A-V [audio-visual] materials, equipment and apparatus, and consumable materials. The average of all these assessments was calculated for each school and was used as the independent variable for quality and quantity of resources.

7. Some of the variables were continuous data or derived from continuous data. (3) Where ordinal ratings (such as those for resources) were averaged over many values the result was treated as a continuous variable. The three point rating scale for the head's influence and certain other ordinal data were treated both as continuous and as classificatory data (4) with similar results appearing in both sets of analyses. The overall school score, being the average of the grades awarded for a large number of subjects, was treated as continuous.

8. The strength of any associations between the independent variables and the schools' overall scores was investigated by examining the proportion of the total variance in the schools' overall scores that could be explained by each of the independent variables. The list below shows what percentage of the total variance was accounted for by each of the three major independent variables in isolation:

Pastoral care 32 per cent
Strength of head's influence 18 per cent
Quality and quantity of resources 17 per cent
9. Each of these three variables was significantly associated with the schools' overall scores; significance was established by F-tests with p less than 0.05. However, as there was a considerable degree of correlation between these variables, especially between the head's influence and the other two variables, when taken together they accounted for only 45 per cent of the total variance. The two variables, the ratings for pastoral care and for resources, accounted for 42 per cent of the total variance in the schools' overall score.

Figure 1 Effects of certain variables on the standards of work achieved.

A range of one standard error around each mean score is shown. The standard errors are quite large but no conclusions were drawn from this form of analysis about the significance of a relationship between overall scores and each of the three variables shown. F-tests based on the proportion of variance explained were used to establish significance.

(In the survey, schools' scores range from 3.50 to 1.20)

*The term 'resources' refers to material resources, for example, books, equipment and apparatus, consumable materials.

10. Most of the other independent variables were found to account for little or none of the variance. One or two variables which accounted for a significant proportion of the variance on their own, were so highly correlated with the major variables that they were subsumed by them when all the variables were taken together. This was particularly true for the rating for children's relationships which was highly correlated with the rating for pastoral care. It explained 22 per cent of the overall variance on its own but it added little extra once the major variables were included.

11. The effect of the individual variables may also be examined by comparing the mean overall score of those schools which had higher than average values of an independent variable with the mean score of those which had lower than average values. These comparisons for the three major variables are shown in Figure 1.

12. Analyses for the other 14 dependent variables (the grades awarded for the quality of work in each subject) were confined to individual associations. The associations were measured using Kendall's rank correlation coefficient. The associations with resources and with the quality of schemes of work are shown in Table 18. Any coefficients which were not statistically significant have been omitted, but a number of those that are shown have quite low values and should be treated with some caution.

Table 18 Correlations between certain variables and grades awarded for specific subjects

Footnotes

(1) In each inspection HMI indicated the general standard of the children's work in each subject by awarding grades on a six point scale ranging from 'very good' to 'very poor'. In making these assessments HMI took into account the abilities of the pupils and the socio-economic circumstances of the schools.

(2) It must be borne in mind that each of the independent variables in the sample varied within a limited range and nothing can be said about the effect of these variables on standards of work in schools where they operate outside these ranges.

(3) Continuous data are measured on scales whose intervals are in some sense equal. Ordinal data are measured on scales whose points have a clear ordering, though little or nothing is known about the relative magnitude of the intervals between the points. Classificatory data are not measured on any scale and serve only to distinguish various subsets of the data.

(4) SPSS and GLEM-3, the two statistical packages used, have no facilities for dealing with ordinal data as such.

Appendix 4 Summaries of HMI schedules
[pages 100 - 112]

During the survey, HMI made their assessments in accordance with agreed schedules which listed a wide range of activities likely to be found in middle schools. While it was not expected that every school would necessarily include all the activities related to the items listed in the schedules, it was thought likely that each school would cover most of these, though the precise selection of activities would be dependent on the individual circumstances of each school.

ITEMS COMMON TO ALL SCHEDULES

For all the aspects of work examined each schedule asked HMI to report on the context of the work observed, in terms of:

i the nature of the accommodation

ii. the range and quality of resources and the use made of these resources during the period of the visit

iii. the extent to which out-of-school resources are used

iv. the responsibilities and qualifications of the teacher or teachers with designated responsibility for the subject

v. the criteria used for the organisation of teaching groups

vi. the extent to which the subject is taught separately or in combination

vii. the adequacy of the time allocation

viii. the use made by the school of the local education authority advisory service

ix. the schemes of work: availability, contents, extent to which they are followed, and procedures for reappraisal

x. the methods of assessment and quality of records kept on children's achievements

xi. the nature, extent and effectiveness of liaison between:
a. the middle school and the first schools from which pupils are received
b. the middle school and other middle schools in the area
c. the middle school and the upper schools to which pupils transfer.

In addition, at the end of each schedule, HMI was asked to comment on:
i. the general effects of having the age ranges 8 to 12 or 5 to 12 in one school

ii. the general effects of the size of school

iii. the appropriateness of the work for a. children of above average ability, b. children of average ability, and c. children of below average ability.

ITEMS SPECIFIC TO PARTICULAR SCHEDULES

The following sub-sections summarise the factors referred to in schedules related to more specific aspects of the work of the schools.

General features of the school: its organisation and management, and the provision made for children's social and personal education.

1. The range and quality of opportunities provided for pupils to exercise initiative, responsibility, leadership and participation; the response of pupils to such opportunities.

2. The characteristics of the school's catchment area.

3. Evidence of the practice and quality of pastoral care.

4. The quality of relationships between adults and pupils, and evidence on the general behaviour of pupils.

5. Evidence of arrangements made for consultation between parents and staff; evidence of parents' involvement in the day-to-day work of the school.

6. Evidence of links with the local community.

7. The factors which influence the range of subjects taught.

8. The nature of the responsibilities carried by the head and senior staff and the factors influencing the discharge of these responsibilities.

9. Evidence of the influence of head and senior staff on the work of the children.

10. The effects of local education authority policies on the school; the use made by the school of the local education authority advisory service.

11. The extent to which the school succeeds in creating an environment likely to encourage learning.

12. The nature of the 'out-of-school' activities organised for the children.

Language and literacy

1. Background features over which the school has little control but which influence the 'language life' of the school.

2. Evidence on the leadership or guidance given to teachers about language.

3. The range and quality of opportunities provided for talking and listening.

4. Evidence on the attention given to drama.

5. Evidence on the provision of fiction, information and poetry books.

6. The quality of library provision.

7. The quality of children's attainment in reading; evidence on the teaching of reading including strategies to develop and extend children's reading skills; opportunities provided for children to read for pleasure.

8. Evidence on children's use of information and text books.

9. Opportunities provided for children to hear, read or write poetry.

10. The extent to which fiction and poetry are used in different areas of the curriculum.

11. The emphasis given to writing, the assistance given to children, and the quality of their response. The range and nature of writing tasks undertaken by the children.

12. Evidence of each of the following aspects of the work: the teaching of handwriting, the teaching of spelling and punctuation, children's use of the current conventions of spelling and punctuation, and the standard of presentation of children's work.

13. The extent to which provision is made for slow learners and/or very able pupils.

14. Evidence of the school's awareness of out-of-school influences on children's language, eg television.

Mathematics

1. The degree of attention given to the application of mathematics across the curriculum.

2. Evidence on the general style of teaching in the school, and the factors leading to the successful teaching of mathematics.

3. The extent to which opportunities are provided for children to do each of the following: to use common sense methods, to practise mental mathematics, to participate in oral work, to exercise choice, and to organise their own work and materials.

4. The extent to which practical activities are provided.

5. The extent to which the pupils are given opportunities to work on each of the following topics: the four operations with whole numbers, fractions and decimals; estimation and approximation; experience with a variety of measuring instruments; applications of computation; geometrical aspects of natural and man-made forms; graphical representation of data; creative work (investigations, puzzles etc); and exploration of patterns leading to generalisations.

6. The range of topics included in courses and the proportion of children to whom the topics are taught.

7. Evidence of pupils' attitudes towards mathematics.

8. The quality of mathematical display.

9. Evidence of the use made of textbooks, workcards/worksheets and broadcasts.

10. Evidence of the use of calculators and computers.

11. The extent to which the school makes provision for very able pupils, for the least able pupils, or for children whose mother tongue is not English.

12. Evidence of the extent to which local education authority guidelines influence the teaching of mathematics.

13. Evidence of liaison with parents about the mathematics course and the progress of individual children.

14. Evidence of the use made of homework.

Science and health education

1. The extent to which the following activities are used: pupils' practical work, teacher demonstration, discussion, reading from text books and reference books, activities from workcards, formal recording, and free writing about science.

2. Evidence of the links made between science and other subjects, particularly mathematics.

3. The extent of which opportunities are provided for children to initiate and pursue their own investigations.

4. Evidence of the suitability of content.

5 The quality of provision made for, and of development achieved in, the following activities: observation, selection of evidence or data, pattern-seeking, experimentation, explanation, application, communication, perseverance, and the safe and confident use of equipment.

6. Evidence of children's attitudes towards science.

7. Evidence of attention given to the following topics:

a. the function of the human body
b. physical and emotional changes at puberty
c. hygiene
d. safety
e. environmental hazards
f. social hazards, and
g. interpersonal relationships.
8. Evidence that the school uses teaching materials from curriculum development projects to aid the teaching of health education.

9. The extent to which radio and television programmes are used regularly for health education.

10. Evidence that the school has discussed health education with a. parents, and b. officers of the Area Health Authority.

French

1. The quality of provision made for each of the following four language skills: aural comprehension, reading, speaking and writing.

2. The extent to which French is used in the classrooms.

3. The part played by background studies in the teaching of French.

Social and environmental studies

1. The extent to which children are helped to develop the following: an understanding of time sequence and chronology, an understanding of change and continuity, an understanding of causality and historical explanation, an ability to appreciate the points of view and circumstances of other people, an awareness of the need for evidence, an ability to use and evaluate primary and secondary historical sources.

2. Evidence that children are given opportunities to develop the following abilities: to find information, to collate information from more than one source, to analyse and select what is useful and relevant, and to present material coherently and in an appropriate form.

3. The extent to which the work contains material from the following categories:

i. local history
ii. national history
iii. world history
iv. pre-500 AD
v. 500-1500 AD
vi. 1500-1850 AD
vii. 1850-present.
4. The emphasis given in the work to people's lives, work and beliefs.

5. The quality of children's response in the following aspects of the work:

a. oral work and discussion
b. written work
c. drama
d. pictorial work
e. three-dimensional work
f. audio-visual presentation, and
g. games and/or simulations.
6. Evidence that children have studied:
a. what places are like
b. how people have used and adapted their surroundings for various activities
c. the location of places, features and activities
d. the distribution of places, features and activities
e. the movements of people and goods between places
f. changes in the character of places and in the location of activities
g. environmental or social issues relating to particular places.
7. Evidence that children have attempted to find explanations or establish relationships in connection with the topics outlined in 6.

8. Evidence that pupils have opportunities to do each of the following: use a globe, use atlases as sources of information; draw maps and use maps to record information; interpret symbols, settlement features and relief from large-scale maps; and measure distances from maps.

9. Evidence that attention has been given to each of the following areas:

a. the locality
b. United Kingdom
c. areas beyond the United Kingdom.
10. Evidence on the contents and types of activities used in the study of geographical topics at the time of the inspection.

11. The nature and quality of pupils' response to work requiring them to:

a. observe
b. collect and record information
c. select relevant evidence
d. present information appropriately, and
e. recall and apply knowledge in new situations.
12. The extent to which children are given opportunities for:

a. independent work
b. work in groups
c. initiative
d. responsibility for planning work, and
e. perseverance.
Religious education

1. The degree of emphasis given to:

a. The Old Testament
b. The New Testament, and
c. the nature of the Bible and its background.
2. The attention given to world religions.

3. Evidence on the extent to which religious education is put in a broad perspective: for example, the historical development of the Church, the meaning of faith for Christians and followers of other religions, Christian and other ways of worship.

4. Evidence on the organisation, contents and effects of assemblies.

5. Evidence of the ways in which children communicate their response to religious ideas in class and assembly.

6. Evidence that children are beginning to consider major religious questions.

7. Evidence that children are being taught about the language of myth, symbolism, worship and ritual.

8. Evidence of the ways in which religious education in particular and the school in general promote the understanding of religious ideas and the formation of attitudes such as sympathy and tolerance.

Arts and crafts

1. Evidence of the extent to which pupils are required to observe carefully and to record their observations in visual form.

2. The range of processes experienced by pupils in art and in craft, design and technology and the extent to which pupils are able to select the appropriate processes for the task in hand.

3. The extent to which children develop a. sensitivity to the formal elements of art, b. the ability to discriminate and make judgements, and c. the ability to evaluate their own work and that of others.

4. Evidence that children are required to design and make forms or structures in response to problems where the answers are not prescribed.

5. Evidence of opportunities provided for personal interpretation.

6. The quality of teaching methods, programmes of work, materials, tools and equipment.

7. The quality of attention given to the environment, eg displays.

8. Evidence that pupils have opportunities to extend their competence in the use of graphics.

9. The quality of pupils' response as evidenced by their work, language, skills, judgements and attitudes.

10. The degree of attention given to the safe handling of tools and materials and to the development of safety awareness.

11. The extent of links between art, craft, design and technology and other areas of the curriculum.

Home studies and needlecrafts

1. Evidence that attention has been given to the following topics: human development, nutrition, meal planning, cost and value of food, preparation of simple meals, cooking of isolated dishes, food science, food and other cultures, the nature, use and selection of fabrics, history of clothes, creative embroidery, toy-making, study of shops and shopping and consumer education.

2. The extent to which children are given opportunities to learn to: solve problems; make decisions; cooperate with others; take responsibility; identify priorities; extract information; use initiative; work independently; plan and complete a piece of work; and use materials economically.

3. Evidence on the opportunities provided to extend pupils' competence in: language; mathematical understanding; scientific understanding; aesthetic and sensory awareness; manipulative skills; and social skills.

4. Evidence that children have developed their abilities to: manage money; manage time; care for their clothes or personal possessions; feed themselves sensibly; understand rules for health; show concern for others; and look after a home.

5. Evidence on the appearance of the teaching area and the use made of display.

6. Evidence on the attention given to hygiene and to teaching pupils how to handle tools and equipment appropriately and safely.

7. Evidence of links between home studies and needlecrafts and other areas of the curriculum.

Music

1. Evidence on the extent of instrumental teaching, the main instruments taught and the teaching arrangements employed.

2. Evidence on the contribution made by peripatetic teachers to the teaching of music.

3. The extent to which children engage in the following activities: singing; recorder playing as a classroom activity for all; guitar playing as a classroom activity; class music-making using instruments; pupil-devised music-making, eg original composition, improvisation; listening; music reading; written work; theoretical studies; electronic music-making; individual interests; instrumental playing in assembly; instrumental ensembles; orchestra; band; choir.

4. Evidence of the quality of children's response to music.

5. The extent to which special provision is made for gifted children, less able children or any other exceptional group of children.

Physical education

1. Provision for, and standards of work in, athletics, outdoor education, dance, games, gymnastics and swimming.

2. Evidence of children's ability to do the following:

observe,
make decisions,
work purposefully,
show perseverance,
extract information,
solve problems,
show independence
and
show initiative.
3. Evidence of pupils' readiness to play and be physically active; ability to cooperate and compete sensibly; and willingness to take responsibility.

4. Evidence that children had developed the following:

movement confidence and sensitivity;
skills in gymnastics, dance, swimming and games;
range and versatility of movement; and,
mobility, strength and endurance.
5. Evidence of children's knowledge of physical activity; of rules, of health and safety matters; and of the application of skills.

Provision for children with special needs

In relation to each of the following groups of children:

(a) Those with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
(b) Those having learning difficulties.
(c) Those having moderate learning difficulties.
(d) Those with impaired hearing.
(e) Those with physical handicaps.
(f) Those whose mother tongue is not English.
(g) Those believed by the school to have exceptionally high ability in one or more aspects of the curriculum.

1. Evidence of the patterns of teaching employed, eg the balance between class work and work in withdrawal groups.

2. The adequacy of the time allocated to specialist teaching.

3. Evidence of the screening procedures used.

4. Evidence of the use of standardised tests and other procedures for the diagnosis of children's special difficulties.

5. Evidence within schemes of work for curricular subjects, of reference to children with special educational needs.

6. Evidence of efforts made by the school to help parents understand their children's special educational needs.

7. Evidence of the extent to which the needs of the children are being met.

Chapter 8 | Index