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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Miss H Wilman Headteacher Abbots Ripton C of E Primary School Wennington Road Abbots Ripton Huntingdon PE28 2LT

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social and health education (PSHE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 9 June 2011 to look at work in PSHE.

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social and health education (PSHE)

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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social and health education (PSHE)

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.

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social and health education (PSHE)

The overall effectiveness of PSHE is good.

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Achievement in PSHE

 Pupils have good knowledge of sex and relationships and drugs education that they have gained from a variety of sources both in school and at home.  Pupils are confident, articulate and can talk at length on a range of issues. They enjoy debating, talking to visitors and expressing their personal views.  They have good social skills and are polite and courteous. They play well together and support each other well.  Pupils have a strong sense of loyalty and are proud to represent the school in team events.  They develop good leadership skills, for example as sports leaders, school counsellors and eco-club leaders, that develop their confidence and self- esteem.

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Quality of teaching in PSHE

The quality of teaching in PSHE is satisfactory.

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Quality of teaching in PSHE

 Teachers plan thoroughly for PSHE lessons with a range of activities.  The quality of teaching in lessons varies. In the best, regular questioning ensures that pupils understand the purpose of the lesson. The pace of learning is brisk and teachers have good subject knowledge.  In the less successful lessons, the pace of learning is slow and learning objectives are not sufficiently clear or measurable. Learning gains are not frequently checked by the teacher and some pupils remain confused and lose focus.  Teaching assistants are not used consistently well in all lessons to support learning.

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Quality of the curriculum in PSHE

The quality of the curriculum in PSHE is good

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Quality of the curriculum in PSHE

 The PSHE curriculum permeates all areas of the school’s work and has a strong focus on meeting pupils’ needs, especially those whose circumstances make them vulnerable. The curriculum equips pupils well for the next stage of their education.  The commercial scheme of work is carefully mapped across the school. It is well-coordinated so that all pupils in the school cover the same broad tropics at the same time and is tailored well to specific groups of pupils.  External professionals are used effectively to supplement the curriculum and are successful in motivating and inspiring individual pupils to succeed.  The curriculum provides good opportunities for pupils to support one another and specific groups within the local community.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PSHE

The effectiveness of leadership and management in PSHE is satisfactory.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PSHE

 The subject leader has good subject knowledge and motivates colleagues well. Senior staff place a high value on PSHE within the school.  The school’s self-evaluation of the effectiveness of PSHE is accurate.  The subject leader has not been allocated time to monitor and support the quality of PSHE teaching.  The PSHE action plan is not sharply focused enough on measurable outcomes.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 ensuring all lessons have clear and measurable learning objectives that are understood by all pupils and regularly checked by teachers in lessons  ensuring that the subject leader is provided with opportunities to monitor and support the quality of PSHE teaching across the school  ensuring that the PSHE action plan contains more sharply focused success criteria.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

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