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 Collins Principal Pimlico Academy Lupus Street London SW1V 3AT

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education (PE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and students, during my visit on 19 and 20 September 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 senior leaders and the subject leader; meetings with two groups of students; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of students’ work; and observation of seven lessons.

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education (PE)

The overall effectiveness of PE is good.

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Achievement in PE

 In Key Stage 3, the vast majority of students make good progress in a broad range of activities. Assessment data show that attainment has risen year on year since opening as an academy; currently the percentage of students attaining the expected level by the end of Year 9 is well above the national average. In games lessons, extended periods of time to practice sending and receiving skills in small groups promote learning. Achievement in dance is accelerated when students work independently to choreograph their own sequences.  In Key Stage 4, small but increasing numbers of students pursue GCSE PE and results are improving year on year. In 2011, the percentage attaining at least a C grade was above the national average and a higher proportion of students attained an A* or an A grade. When asked, students say that they are making good progress and enjoy PE. Overall achievement is unclear because the academy does not make regular assessments of how

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Achievement in PE

well all students are progressing throughout Years 10 and 11.

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Quality of teaching in PE

 Teachers are good role models and set high expectations. Students’ behaviour is good because it is well-managed, participation rates are high and the quality of PE kit is excellent. Lesson time and first-class facilities are maximised to enable students to enjoy and achieve in PE. Teachers’ detailed subject knowledge and enthusiasm encourage and motivate students to work hard and try their best. Some teachers use video to illustrate learning but the use of other information and communication technology is limited.  In most lessons, the quality of teaching is securing good progress. At times, teaching is only satisfactory because students are not sufficiently challenged when warming-up for exercise, some group-work is too easy and too few opportunities are provided for them to learn by themselves and with others, independent of the teacher. Students gauge how well they are attaining using good-quality resource cards, but have fewer

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Quality of teaching in PE

opportunities to observe and evaluate their peers’ performance.

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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

 The curriculum provides a broad range of experiences which contributes well to students’ development. Games dominate the curriculum but they are complemented by some dance, gymnastic and athletic activities. In both key stages, students have two 50-minute lessons each week which is less than the recommended time for PE. However, most students exceed two hours of PE and sport each week by participating in a wide range of enrichment activities before, during and after school, including regular competitive fixtures against other schools in a number of sports. Currently, there are more enrichment opportunities for boys than girls.  GCSE PE makes a good contribution to raising overall attainment in the academy. Students in Years 10 and 11 can choose to pursue the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award but opportunities to gain sports leadership qualifications and coaching awards are limited. Most of the concepts and

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

processes contained in national guidelines feature in lessons but they are not made explicit in schemes of work or lesson plans.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

The effectiveness of leadership and management in PE is outstanding.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

 In a short space of time the subject leader has transformed the subject from one which had very low participation rates and low attainment into one that is thriving. PE is respected by students, participation rates are high and standards have improved dramatically. This has been achieved by raising teachers’ expectations of students, setting ambitious targets for improvement and by galvanising staff to work together as a team to deliver them. PE enjoys a high profile in the academy.  Rigorous and extensive monitoring has driven improvements to the quality of teaching and learning. Effective partnerships with other schools help to validate the standards achieved in GSCE PE and links with local clubs and organisations enhance sporting opportunities for students. Thorough self- evaluation and development planning have, in recent years, rightly prioritised raising students’ achievement and improving the quality of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

teaching. The subject leader recognises the scope for further improvement to the Key Stage 4 curriculum by increasing the choice of accredited awards and by extending assessment procedures into Years 10 and 11.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 developing the existing Key Stage 4 curriculum by providing students with more opportunities to gain qualifications and accredited awards in PE and sport  sharpening assessment procedures to illustrate clearly that all students make sufficient progress throughout both key stages and to demonstrate that they fully understand the concepts and processes that underpin the programme of study for PE  promoting further opportunities for students to learn independently by themselves and in small groups, and to lead their own and others’ learning.

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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 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.

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