Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs S Holt St Anne’s Church of England (Aided) Primary School Broadway Royton Oldham OL2 5DH

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design

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 9 November 2010 to look at work in art, craft and design.

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design

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

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design

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of pupils’ work; and observation of four lessons, including one in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Achievement in art, craft and design

Pupils’ achievement in art, craft and design is satisfactory.

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Achievement in art, craft and design

 From broadly average starting points in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children make steady gains in their creative development. By the time they enter Key Stage 1, their achievements are in line with those expected for their age.  Children in the Nursery class particularly enjoy working collaboratively with their friends. For example, when designing and decorating a large fairy castle, carefully mixing colours and choosing whether to use large, or small brushes, or textured rollers for best effect.  Evidence from pupils’ sketchbooks, lesson observations and displays, and portfolios of their art work show that boys and girls, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities continue to make satisfactory progress and attain broadly average standards by the time they leave Year 6.  Pupils’ behaviour is good, they work enthusiastically and enjoy exploring different materials and media. For example, when choosing different grades

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Achievement in art, craft and design

of graphite to establish the right tone for their pencil drawings or making decisions about the best way to use different sized charcoal in their representational drawings in the style of Egyptian wall art.  Pupils’ creativity in art, craft and design and their skills, including their drawing skills, are developing satisfactorily as a result of such planned experiences. The school is aware that pupils need more opportunities to practise their skills and develop their ideas and creativity. For example, they are aware of the need to increase pupils’ opportunities to develop their ideas in sketchbooks.

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Quality of teaching of art, craft and design

The quality of teaching of art, craft and design is satisfactory.

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Quality of teaching of art, craft and design

 Good relationships between teachers and pupils and teachers’ enthusiasm for the subject underpin all teaching. This helps to build pupils’ confidence to experiment and ‘have a go’.  Classrooms are organised well. Teachers prepare lessons diligently and use an effective range of resources and activities, such as examples of artists’ work, artefacts and demonstration, to teach styles and techniques.  Formal assessment of pupils’ work is developing. Oral feedback, guidance and individual support from teachers and teaching assistants are well established and used throughout lessons. These ensure that those who lack confidence are encouraged successfully and supported to participate fully.  Pupils also have regular opportunities to evaluate their own work and that of their peers. Such strategies are helping them to understand how well they are doing and to reflect on what they need to do to improve. However, the use of sketch books is underdeveloped and this limits pupils’

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Quality of teaching of art, craft and design

opportunities to develop their ideas or hone their skills further.

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Quality of the curriculum in art, craft and design

The quality of the curriculum in art, craft and design is satisfactory.

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Quality of the curriculum in art, craft and design

 Curriculum content is improving because of the recent development of a topic-based curriculum. Thorough review by the subject coordinator has ensured that art, craft and design opportunities are built into topics effectively and in a way that can build pupils’ skills and knowledge progressively.  The curriculum ensures that pupils access a range of experiences to develop their creativity in the subject satisfactorily. Pupils have good opportunities to draw in different ways, including from observation, memory and imagination. Opportunities to work in three dimensions are more limited.  The curriculum also provides satisfactory opportunities for pupils to learn the vocabulary of art, such as tone and colour, texture and form and pupils say that they enjoy experimenting with these elements in their work.  Pupils say that they enjoy their experiences in the subject. However, a few would welcome more opportunities to visit galleries or work with a wider

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Quality of the curriculum in art, craft and design

range of artists and craftworkers. The school is aware of this and plans are in place to improve matters. Pupils would also like opportunities to display their achievements beyond the school and their local church.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management of art, craft and design

The leadership and management of art, craft and design are satisfactory.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management of art, craft and design

 The subject leader has a well-focused passion and commitment to develop a subject that had little coherence two years ago. Although this has led to improvements in the curriculum and in pupils’ progress and achievements, the subject leader knows that there is more to do.  Self-evaluation is tenacious and accurate. The coordinator has a clear understanding of strengths and areas for further improvement.  Strategic planning includes all areas that require development. For example, formal assessment is being developed in line with that used in English and mathematics and this is adding rigour to the use of assessment to inform pupils’ next steps.  The coordinator and staff work well together, sharing resources and ideas for teaching. Opportunities to learn from, or share good practice are developing through successful partnerships with other primary schools and a well-established partnership with the church.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 Raising achievement in art, craft and design further by:  increasing pupils’ opportunities to develop ideas, experiment and hone their skills through more consistent and regular use of sketchbooks  widening pupils’ first-hand experiences by providing more opportunities for them to work in three dimensions, display their work outside of school, visit galleries and work with contemporary artists, craft workers and designers.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop art, craft and design in the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

As I explained previously, a copy of this letter will be published on the Ofsted website. It may be used to inform decisions about any future inspection. Except in the case of academies, a copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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