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 L Polden Headteacher Mossford Green Primary School Fairlop Road Barkingside Ilford IG6 2EW

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education (PE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 28 June 2011 to look at work in PE.

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education (PE)

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 (PE)

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; and observation of four lessons and other activities.

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education (PE)

The overall effectiveness of PE is good.

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Achievement in PE

 Pupils make good progress. Children develop a good range of physical skills in well-organised and resourced outdoor learning areas for the Nursery and Reception classes. Outcomes in physical development at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage were a little above average in 2010. Although the school does not record levels of attainment in Key Stages 1 and 2, evidence from lessons seen indicate that many pupils in Year 6 reach above average attainment in dance and gymnastics. A majority of pupils are able to swim 25 metres before they leave for secondary school.  Pupils enjoy PE and their involvement in a broad range of physical activities makes a significant contribution towards their personal development. Behaviour in lessons is good and pupils show positive attitudes, perseverance and a commitment to improve their skills. At break times, pupils play together energetically, sometimes supported by trained

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Achievement in PE

playground buddies. Pupils in Year 6 know the key features of a healthy lifestyle and many show imagination and creativity in their work.

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Quality of teaching in PE

 Lessons are well organised and teachers’ planning identifies what pupils will learn and how it will be assessed. Teaching assistants are deployed successfully to support groups of pupils and good use is made of a range of resources to support learning activities. Outstanding teaching was seen, in which excellent modelling in dance and strong subject knowledge in gymnastics helped pupils to develop high-quality responses. Information and communication technology (ICT) was used effectively to analyse gymnastics sequences and to time pupils’ performances in athletics but there is scope for using ICT more widely in lessons.  Pupils have many opportunities to work together in groups and in most of the lessons seen they were engaged fully throughout. Teachers ask pertinent questions to test pupils’ understanding, for example, why they warm up; and, pupils are encouraged to discuss their performances and

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Quality of teaching in PE

look for improvements. Teachers observe pupils working on their activities and intervene to help develop skills and techniques. Apart from in the Early Years Foundation Stage, there are no detailed ongoing records kept of teachers’ assessments of pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

The quality of the curriculum in PE is good.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

 All areas of learning are included in the balanced curriculum. Most pupils enjoy three hours of physical activities in their weekly timetables. Two hour-long lessons are supplemented with specialist dance and games lessons, or daily speed stacking and ‘take ten’ sessions. Year 6 pupils take part in a good range of outdoor and adventurous activities during a residential visit and swimming is included in the curriculum for Years 3 and 4. Teachers successfully link learning in PE to other subjects, particularly in dance.  Involvement in the local sports partnership has helped to enhance provision through pupils’ involvement in tournaments and competitions. Many pupils take part in a good range of extra-curricular sports clubs and excellent coaching in dance is enriching the curriculum for Year 6 pupils. The curriculum is adapted well for individual pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and a small number of high

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

performing pupils play sport at an elite level outside of school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

The effectiveness of leadership and management in PE is good.  Leaders have a strong commitment to improving provision and a good understanding of what needs to be done to achieve it. There is a clearly defined role for the PE leader, which includes subject-specific performance management targets. Good progress has been made in the last year in raising the participation levels of pupils in regular physical activity. Effective partnerships have been established with local schools to extend provision and provide professional development courses for staff.  Subject action plans identify the annual priorities for improvement and short evaluation reports are written each term to inform the governing body about developments and achievements. The subject leader has completed some monitoring, for example evaluating the effectiveness of teachers’ planning and recording pupils’ involvement in sports clubs. There

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

is not enough emphasis on monitoring the quality of teaching and learning in lessons, monitoring pupils’ progress and evaluating achievement.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 establishing an effective system for assessing, recording and monitoring pupils’ attainment and progress in PE  extending the subject leader’s role in monitoring the quality of provision and evaluating pupils’ achievement.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

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