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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Mr J Lynch Grundisburgh Primary School Alice Driver Road Grundisburgh Woodbridge IP13 6XH

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design

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 10 March 2011 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 schools 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 two lessons.

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design

The overall effectiveness of art, craft and design is good.

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Achievement in art, craft and design

Achievement in art, craft and design is good.

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Achievement in art, craft and design

 Pupils’ attainment on entry is wide ranging, including their skills in creative development. By the time they leave in Year 6, standards in the subject are broadly average. However, their large-scale collaborative work shows that boys and girls progress well in developing their confidence and creativity.  Pupils explore line, tone, shape, colour and pattern effectively, enjoying their use of two- and three-dimensional and digital media. However, their ability to refine work by giving attention to finish or detail is a weaker aspect of their work, including the quality of observation.  Good knowledge and understanding of the work of artists, designers and craftworkers are evident, demonstrated particularly well by pupils in Years 2 and 3 who shared their creative journals related to an environmental art project. The quality of drawing in sketchbooks is satisfactory overall.  Different groups of pupils, including the high proportion with special

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Achievement in art, craft and design

educational needs and/or disabilities, work cooperatively and constructively, evident in the lessons observed and in peer-evaluations. However, there is less evidence of outstanding work by more able pupils.

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Quality of teaching of art, craft and design

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

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Quality of teaching of art, craft and design

 Teachers use their knowledge of individual pupils well to ensure that all are actively engaged. Planning takes good account of boys and girls who find learning in the subject difficult, including use of support staff. Specific strategies to challenge more able pupils are underdeveloped.  Staff use their own experiences effectively to stimulate pupils’ creativity and promote understanding. For example, a teachers’ use of her own example, and those of professional artists and photographers, enabled Year 2 pupils to understand how to make and use complementary colours.  Relationships at all levels are good. As a result, pupils respond positively and respectfully to each other and to staff. Pupils are taught how to care for, and organise, resources well. Work displayed inside and outside school promotes pride in pupils’ achievements and their environment.  There are good examples of assessment, including marking by staff and

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Quality of teaching of art, craft and design

reflective comments by pupils that identify clearly how to improve. However, scrutiny of work across the school indicates that assessment is used inconsistently and aspirations are sometimes limited by experience.

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Quality of the curriculum in art, craft and design

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

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Quality of the curriculum in art, craft and design

 The school uses the local scheme of work effectively to ensure that pupils learn about a wide range of artists, craftworkers and designers working in different times and places. References to local artists such as Dale Devereaux Barker, inspire pupils about the subject and Suffolk.  Pupils experience a good range of two- and three-dimensional, digital and mixed media. Pupils from Years 4 and 5 were also observed learning how to improvise with a limited range of media, a mark-making approach worthy of use across more units of work.  Opportunities for pupils to sustain their interest through large-scale projects are used effectively to promote collaborative work, enriched by adults with additional expertise and experience, including practising artists. However, work with art galleries is underdeveloped.  Pupils have good opportunities to make choices during ‘golden time’ when those usually based in different classes gain from working alongside others

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Quality of the curriculum in art, craft and design

through different art, craft and design activities. In addition, other enrichment activities also link, for example gardening and craftwork.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management of art, craft and design

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

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Effectiveness of leadership and management of art, craft and design

 You have good plans to position the subject prominently within the curriculum to promote pupils’ enjoyment and achievement across different subjects. The school’s progress from satisfactory to good has included strategies that use art-based experiences as a stimulus.  A strong commitment to professional development is evident. The two staff currently participating in the ‘East Feast’ initiative with Creative Partnerships are having a positive impact on the whole-school priority to strengthen cross-curricular links, for example between art and science.  The school is well resourced for the subject, including a recently enhanced space for large work and exhibitions about which your vision is clear and expectations are high. The school portfolio is a useful resource, illustrating the curriculum well but indicating too little about levels of achievement.  The subject development plan is informed by best practice seen in other

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Effectiveness of leadership and management of art, craft and design

schools and identifies a satisfactory range of improvements. However, analyses of standards achieved or targeted in the subject are not sufficiently referenced, to show why the priorities are appropriate.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 teaching pupils how to review, revisit and refine their work to raise the standard of individual work, including drawing  combining the best of sketchbooks and journals to support pupils in recording and developing their experiences, observations and imagination  using examples of different standards achieved by pupils to support their progression and inform expectations, including of more able pupils  increasing pupils’ first-hand experience of work by artists, craftworkers and designers, including insights into how their work is developed.

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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 education at Grundisburgh 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. A copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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