school-inspection-report

Castle House School 7
of SEN or EAL, well-defined procedures with appropriate priorities are clearly set out.
These involve all teachers and learning support staff. Well-constructed individual education
plans for pupils with statements of SEN are taken into careful account. Good planning
ensures that work is neither too hard nor too easy.
2.31 Expectations in the best lessons are high. Many good opportunities are provided for pupils to
take responsibility for their own learning. Well-planned, challenging tasks and skilful
questioning encourage pupils to think critically and learn for themselves. For example, in a
highly successful English lesson, pupils were able to identify alliteration, similes and
metaphors in three poems. They voiced their opinions about how the use of these literary
forms enhanced poetry before creating their own. In such lessons, progress is rapid.
2.32 Lesson planning is usually thorough at all stages of learning. The most effective teaching
has very clear learning objectives and provides pupils with well-organised, stimulating and
focused activities matched closely to their abilities. Most teaching shows a good
understanding of pupils’ needs and aptitudes and work is planned accordingly. On
occasions, opportunities to extend the learning and meet the needs of the most able were not
provided.
2.33 A strong feature of teaching is the positive and wholesome quality of relationships between
pupils and their teachers. In an Upper School games lesson, well-illustrated teaching points
and skills-based activities were used meaningfully to encourage high standards in a mixed
age group. Throughout the school all pupils’ contributions are valued and encouraged.
2.34 Teachers have a thorough knowledge of the subjects they teach and their explanations are
clear. They translate their own enthusiasm into well-paced, stimulating and informative
lessons, and this maintains pupils’ interest in their work. Well-directed specialist teaching
contributes significantly to pupils’ high achievements and rapid progress. Teachers use
resources well. The provision of many well-organised enrichment activities considerably
enhances the pupils’ learning experiences. Teachers manage their classes well and maintain
high standards of behaviour. Their enthusiasm and ambition for pupils to do well are very
apparent. They use praise and encouragement widely.
2.35 The systems for assessing and recording pupils’ attainment and progress are efficient,
accurate and work well. Assessment is often used effectively to take work further forward.
Assessments are used primarily to monitor pupils’ progress over time and to recognise
individual strengths and weaknesses. In the best examples, regular assessments are carefully
planned, detailed and linked to explicit criteria.
2.36 Assessment for younger pupils is informative and thorough, with reading and spelling tests
conducted annually. For the very youngest, good use is made of initial evaluations, which
form a springboard for growth. Children under the age of five are assessed regularly and
appropriately. Older pupils’ progress is tracked effectively through standardised tests, tests
of spelling and reading, and through assessment of effort and attainment. Such data is used
increasingly to track their progress. Subject assessment in the form of internal examination
papers is used well to monitor progress and learning. Marking of pupils’ work is consistently
good. The marking policy ensures that marking is frequent, conscientious and offers praise
and constructive ideas for improvement.
2.37 The school meets the regulatory requirements for teaching [Standard 1].