New Holland Church of England and Methodist Primary School.

School Lane, New Holland, Barrow-on-Humber, DN19 7RN

Diocese of Lincoln:  North Lincolnshire LEA.

SIAS Inspection 20th.21st. February 2006   Previous S23 Inspection November 2000

School URN: 118023 :

Head teacher Mr. Roy G.Smith;                       SIAS Inspector, Rev’d. John Pryor No.185

Context

The school is a smaller than average primary school, with a higher than average proportion of pupils with difficult backgrounds. The number of pupils on roll has declined in recent years. The ample accommodation is well used, and the outstanding grounds are used very effectively to broaden and extend the pupils’ experience. The pupils are very supportive of the natural environment and as a result wildlife is encouraged. The village is economically deprived, and consequently, socially disadvantaged. As a result the community is isolated and inward looking, though supportive of its school.

Summary Judgement

        New Holland Church of England and Methodist Primary School is overall a GOOD Foundation school with a very sound Christian basis serving both the Methodist and Anglican communities very well. The very high quality of the physical environment, as well as the undemonstrative Christian based ethos influencing the school, lead to good quality behaviour from the pupils, very many of whom are drawn from a very disadvantaged background. The school’s character maintains the high quality of support and care provided for all learners in the school and as a result, their personal development is good. This is a strength of the school’s provision and meets the particular pastoral needs of this insular and somewhat deprived community very well. Academically the school achieves satisfactory standards.

Established Strengths

Good behaviour, sense of pride in the school, enjoyment of work, good personal development and  the care of the environment based on the sound Christian ethos.

High value placed on everybody in the school community.

The school and the local community support one another very effectively

The school is well aware of both its good features and its shortcomings and is well set up to extend the former and deal with the latter.

Focus for development.

        To strike the right balance between establishing collective worship as an activity to build the whole         school community and providing consultation time for teachers and support staff.

       To make the already sound and valuable Christian ethos of the school stronger as the result of a                      conscious decision by the Governors and staff. 

How distinctive and effective is the school as a Church of England School?

How well does the school through its distinctive character meet the needs of all learners?

By working steadily at improving standards in all areas of the curriculum; effectively supporting pupils who find learning difficult; and fostering a sense of pride in achievement; the school is GOOD in promoting all the pupils’ personal development. Staff and pupils alike say that this is a good school to be in. Because of the outstanding learning environment, which has been created in and around the school the pupils, are knowledgeable about nature and growing things. They appreciate the artistic creations made for them in response to their own designs and use the quiet and reflective places to further their spiritual development very well indeed. These activities support the gentle and unassuming Christian ethos of the school and give it its distinctive inclusive religious character. The older pupils are self-assured when talking with adults and are sensitive to moral questions when discussing particular issues. They do not generally recognize the Christian basis of what they understand and believe. There is often a lack of clarity about particular beliefs. This is the result of too many religious ideas being dealt with at the same time in lessons.

The pupils enjoy a good range of visits and visitors. This extends their experience and understanding of the world beyond the village.  The pupils’ spiritual and moral development are good, as

a result of the opportunities that they are given for discussion of issues in lessons. Importantly, through the school council and in assemblies, they have a good understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Social and cultural development are satisfactory because of the school’s efforts. There are however limited opportunities for more extensive development in the locality. For this reason, not all of this can be compensated for by school activities.

The accepting and broadly based Christian ethos of the school successfully promotes good relationships between pupils and staff. There is mutual regard and consideration for one another throughout the school, demonstrated particularly in the pupils’ good behaviour.

What is the impact of collective worship on the school community?

              Collective worship has a good and positive impact on the development of the school community and the personal and spiritual development of the pupils. It is well prepared and effectively presented by the Head teacher, by visitors from the churches and from time to time by staff and pupils. In this way, it goes a long way to building up the community. This is particularly true of Monday Assemblies attended by most of the staff, a number of parents and other visitors. Teachers and classroom support assistants, except those needed to oversee or support particular children generally do not attend ‘ordinary’ acts of worship. The presence of one or two would demonstrate that worship is not something adults do to or for children, but something good for all sorts of people. Well-supported and effective acts of worship take place in Church at the end of terms, for Harvest and as a recent development, on Remembrance Day. These are good occasions when the school and the local community come together and support each other.

              Pupils appreciate collective worship and take a full part in what is prepared. They know some set prayers and as a result of visits to the church and visits from clergy, including the Bishop of Lincoln, understand something of the religious traditions of both Anglicanism and Methodism. The pupils’ knowledge of these traditions is less secure and acute than their knowledge of other environmental and cultural matters.

How effective is the Religious Education?

              The quality of religious education is not inspected in Voluntary Controlled schools such as New Holland. However, its positive impact on the religious ethos of the school and on the pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is clearly good. Religious education (RE) provides the pupils with insights into religious beliefs and practices of major faiths including Christianity. Pupils enjoy the subject and thrive on the discussions about important matters that take place within R.E. lessons. Pupils benefit significantly from the teaching element in collective worship and the spiritual and moral content of religious education lessons. These are mutually supportive.

How effective is the leadership and management of the school as a church school.

               Overall, the leadership and management of the school are good. The vision of the Head teacher is influential in developing the good Christian ethos that affects the ways in which the school is run. It is shared by the governors and staff in a somewhat unexamined way, because of their trust in the head’s professional insights and competence. Parents and pupils are given opportunities to share in decisions, and in the case of the pupils formulate their own ideas to express them effectively. The pupils feel that their concerns are listened to when decisions are made.

                            The efficient development of methods of monitoring how well pupils are performing throughout the curriculum and in terms of personal development tend, in this small school, to be informal, and in the areas under review in this report are effective because of the easy relationships between staff and with pupils. The culture of the village community makes the full involvement of parents on many issues difficult to achieve, but the school is, through imaginative ventures, such as the Parent and Toddler club, effectively finding ways of improving this. This is a good example of the way in which the school demonstrates its good ability to improve.

                            The supportive ethos based on the importance of the value of each individual is effective in providing good experience for teachers in training; it is also providing a good introduction to the full-time practice of teaching to new and recently qualified teachers on the staff.

This report is based upon two visits to the school, discussions with the Head teacher, pupils and staff, interviews with representatives of the Anglican and Methodist churches, scrutiny of documents and observation of lessons.

John Pryor  (N.S.no:185)