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 K Brent Headteacher Princes School Selbourne Street Liverpool Merseyside L8 1YQ

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education in primary schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 22 June 2011 to look at work in enterprise education.

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education in primary schools

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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education in primary schools

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and pupils, including members of the school council; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of pupils’ work; and observation of four lessons.

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education in primary schools

The overall effectiveness of enterprise education in promoting pupils’ economic and business understanding and enterprise and financial capability is outstanding.

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Achievement in enterprise education

Achievement in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Achievement in enterprise education

 As a result of the school’s very well-planned provision, pupils are developing excellent enterprise-related skills as appropriate to their individual starting points. In particular, there was clear evidence of their developing communication skills, the ability to work with others, to take turns, to make choices and to contribute to decisions. Pupils are encouraged to develop appropriate interpersonal skills – including those with few verbal skills.  Pupils who are members of the school council, with strong support from staff, are empowered to contribute to decision-making in the school. Older members of the school council made excellent contributions when representing the school at the Merseyside Schools Council Forum for pupils with severe special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Quality of teaching in enterprise education

The quality of teaching in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Quality of teaching in enterprise education

 Teachers have very high expectations of pupils. They are totally committed to encouraging and providing opportunities in all lessons for pupils to develop enterprise-related skills, decision-making, problem- solving, communication, teamwork and other transferable skills.  Teachers know pupils exceptionally well and plan lessons and activities to ensure that their highly individual needs are met so that all have the opportunity to develop enterprise skills according to their individual starting points.  Information and communication technology is used skilfully to engage and challenge pupils.  Good use is made of role plays to develop pupils’ understanding of different jobs and real-life situations, although the jobs identified are not always those that might widen pupils’ experience of the world of work.

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Quality of the curriculum in enterprise education

The quality of the curriculum in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Quality of the curriculum in enterprise education

 The promotion of enterprise skills is integrated throughout the curriculum and there are many examples of outstanding opportunities for all pupils. These are linked closely to the school’s highly successful focus on sustainability and environmental and global issues. This is confirmed by its recent success in gaining the Eco Gold Award.  Links with the local community, other adults and businesses are highly effective and are used to support, promote and enhance opportunities to develop enterprise skills and to learn about the different jobs people do. This includes visits to shops and other venues in the local community and the contribution of visitors to the school. However, the range of occupations that is identified in these links is not always sufficiently wide to broaden pupils’ understanding of the world of work.  The annual enterprise day organised in conjunction with other schools in the Merseyside consortium for pupils with severe special educational needs

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Quality of the curriculum in enterprise education

and/or disabilities.provides an excellent focus for the school’s activities during the year.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in enterprise education

The effectiveness of leadership and management in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in enterprise education

 Excellent leadership and management of the provision for enterprise education ensure that the development of enterprise skills is given a prominent position throughout the curriculum and is seen as a priority. All staff have a shared understanding of the importance of developing relevant enterprise skills and this contributes hugely to the success of the provision.  The detailed curriculum plan ensures a highly coherent provision of enterprise-related skills development. Quality assurance processes, for example through work scrutinies, ensure that planned coverage of enterprise education content is met.  Pupils have clearly identified individual targets, many of which relate to enterprise skills. These are monitored regularly ensuring that pupils’ progress is carefully tracked to ensure that their development of enterprise-related skills matches their potential.  Good opportunities are available for staff development and, in particular

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in enterprise education

there are excellent opportunities for sharing good practice within school and among the Merseyside group of schools for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 extending the range of jobs pupils encounter, during role-play situations and in relation to visiting speakers, in order to broaden their experience and awareness of the world of work.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

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