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 Nightingale Headteacher Yaxham Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Clint Green Yaxham Dereham Norfolk NR19 1RU

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and communication technology (ICT)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 1 December 2010 to look at work in ICT.

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and communication technology (ICT)

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.

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and communication technology (ICT)

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of pupils’ work; and observation of three lessons and a tour of the school with pupils.

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and communication technology (ICT)

The overall effectiveness of ICT is good.

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Achievement

The number of pupils in each cohort changes considerably from year to year. This impacts on the overall attainment on entry to the school, which varies annually but is generally below, and sometimes well below, national expectations for ICT.

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Achievement

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are supported well. They confidently use basic technologies such as floor robots, headphones, CD players and the interactive whiteboard. By the time they enter Year 1 they are close to achieving the expected standards for ICT. The progress from Year 1 to Year 6 is good. By the end of Year 6, pupils leave with levels of attainment which are in line with expectations overall, representing good achievement. Pupils are especially confident in communicating and presenting information, but weaker in control and data logging.

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Achievement

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those given behavioural support, make the same good progress as other groups of pupils. They are given good support by well-informed teaching assistants and benefit from the good use of resources.

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Achievement

The relationships between staff and pupils are good. Pupils cooperate and are eager to support each other to overcome difficulties.

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Achievement

By Year 6 pupils have a good knowledge of how to keep safe while using new technologies.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good overall but ranges from satisfactory to good. Teachers and teaching assistants generally have good ICT knowledge. They use this to good effect when planning lessons.

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Quality of teaching

Where teaching is good, lessons have a brisk pace and a variety of activities to engage and motivate pupils. Where teaching is satisfactory, the pace of learning is slower because the subject knowledge and confidence of the teacher are not as secure.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers and teaching assistants use questions effectively to give immediate feedback and to move pupils forward in their next stage of learning. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 know how well they are achieving in ICT, through the use of self-assessment booklets.

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Quality of teaching

However, not all teachers share the learning objectives and the success criteria for ICT, or the level that pupils are working towards, to enable pupils to be fully involved in assessing their progress within a lesson and over time. Staff have good behaviour management skills and ensure a safe environment in which pupils can learn.

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Quality of the curriculum

The ICT curriculum is satisfactory. The two-year cycle for the curriculum ensures that pupils receive their statutory requirement for ICT. There is a good emphasis on communication and presenting information.

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Quality of the curriculum

However, the school recognises that aspects such as data-logging and use of sensors are less well developed. Plans are in place to improve this aspect of ICT as the revised curriculum develops.

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Quality of the curriculum

Good links are being developed between ICT and other subjects of the curriculum.

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Quality of the curriculum

Pupils have the opportunity to access computers before and after school, to develop their skills for research or for homework. Parents can also use the computers at this time. Further opportunities to use ICT are provided in the homework and computer clubs.

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Quality of the curriculum

Pupils identified as gifted and talented attend cluster days for ICT and for a range of other subjects, which include the use of ICT.

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Leadership and management of ICT

The leadership and management of ICT are good.

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Leadership and management of ICT

Because this is a smaller than average school, the ICT leader is also responsible for leading and managing a range of other subjects. However, this has not diminished the focus on ICT, which has a high profile in the school.

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Leadership and management of ICT

Self-evaluation is accurate. The strengths and weaknesses of ICT are known well by staff and governors.

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Leadership and management of ICT

Good use is made of the Virtual Learning Environment to enable teachers, pupils, parents and carers to access work and information at home, as well as at school, to support pupils’ learning.

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Leadership and management of ICT

The governing body is very supportive of the developments in ICT and challenges and holds the school to account well.

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Leadership and management of ICT

Developing email and video conference links with schools in Milton Keynes, Germany, Holland, Romania and Slovenia is enhancing pupils’ understanding of the wider world.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

monitoring the quality of teaching and learning to ensure that pupils make good progress in all lessons ensuring that learning objectives and/or success criteria for ICT are shared with pupils so as to involve them more in self- and peer- assessment and to make them more aware of the levels that they are working towards and achieving.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

improving the curriculum for ICT by developing the use of data logging.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop ICT 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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