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 T Walker Headteacher St Aloysius Catholic Primary School 143 Woodstock Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 7PH

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education (PE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 3 October 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 subject documentation; and observation of three lessons.

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education (PE)

The overall effectiveness of PE is satisfactory.

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Achievement in PE

 From average starting points, pupils reach broadly average standards of attainment in PE and school sports. Significant groups of pupils take part in sports clubs outside school and some of these pupils are working at levels well above that which is typical in their particular sports.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make sound progress because teaching assistants help them to stay focused on tasks and activities. However, their achievements could be better if teaching assistants became more active in lessons so that they supported coaches and teachers in developing pupils’ skills and ability to evaluate their own performance.

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Quality of teaching in PE

The quality of teaching in PE is satisfactory.

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Quality of teaching in PE

 Teachers and coaches plan a range of activities to help pupils acquire and develop skills. Pupils enjoy their lessons, learn about the importance of staying healthy and develop positive attitudes to fitness and health.  The effectiveness of teaching is limited by several factors. Teachers do not formally assess the progress pupils make or record their attainment in PE. Because of this, lessons are not planned with enough thought given to the range of needs and abilities in the class. Teachers tend to respond to pupils success in class but information shared between teachers when pupils change classes tends to be anecdotal. As a result, expectations are not sufficiently based on past performance.  Coaches are used to teach about half of the PE lessons as part of the school’s arrangements for teachers’ non-contact time. These sessions include a range of activities to develop pupils’ skills for playing sport.

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Quality of teaching in PE

However, pupils are infrequently encouraged to think about how they could improve their own performance. Good habits are developed, such as warming up and stretching, but pupils are not consistently reminded of the reasons for these.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

The quality of the curriculum in PE is satisfactory.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

 The school’s long-term plan shows effective coverage of the six areas of learning with references to Qualifications and Curriculum Authority documents to show progression. However, lesson observations and discussions with pupils show that this plan is not followed rigorously by all teachers. As a result, while pupils’ experiences in competitive games are strong, their opportunities to engage in athletics, dance and gymnastics, while adequate, are patchy.  The curriculum for outdoor and adventurous activities is good with pupils attending three separate residential experiences during their time at this school, each providing additional challenge to previous experiences.  A satisfactory range of extra-curricular clubs is provided, largely through private providers. At the time of inspection three clubs involved PE and school sport: capoeira, football and team games.  Pupils have several opportunities to partake in competitive sport against

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

other schools although this number has diminished with the restructuring of the school sports partnership arrangements.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

The effectiveness of leadership and management in PE is satisfactory.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

 Monitoring of PE and school sports is limited because the PE subject leader has had limited non-contact time and most of this has been used in developing partnerships. However, subject and senior leaders have an accurate view of the effectiveness of the subject.  The private company who provides coaches monitors the work of its staff and provides the school with feedback on their performance. Inspection findings show that this is broadly accurate.  While pupils’ views have not been formally sought, leaders understand the range of views held by pupils, including their frustration at the recent narrowing of opportunities available through coaches. However, there is no obvious strategy for taking these views into consideration in future planning.  The school has made good use of the limited space it has for PE and school sports. A useful all-weather pitch complements the school hall. However, storage space is limited and, as a result, too many pieces of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

equipment are stored around the outside of the hall. These have the potential to cause a tripping hazard and should be stored away to create a clear space.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 ensuring that teachers assess individual pupils’ ability and pass this on to the next teacher so that all lessons provide a strong challenge for all learners and skills are systematically built on each year  making sure that all teachers are following the long-term plan for PE and school sport

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 ensuring that all teachers have a clear understanding of the importance of health and safety and store equipment appropriately  providing time for the subject leader to monitor the effectiveness of PE and school sport.

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

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