Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1234 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mr T Cooper Headteacher Widden Primary School Sinope Street Gloucester GL1 4AW

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bullying practice in schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 22 September 2011 as part of our survey of schools’ work to create a positive school culture and prevent and tackle bullying.

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bullying practice in 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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bullying practice in schools

This letter briefly summarises our discussion at the end of the visit.

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Strengths of this aspect of the school’s work

 Pupils say they feel safe at school. They are aware that at times, a minority of pupils do not behave well and there may be incidents when individual pupils are unhappy. However, the majority of pupils are confident that staff will sort out these situations.  The school has recently updated its behaviour policy, clarified its expectations and encourages all pupils to ‘Behave, be good and do your best’.  The current curriculum gives a clear structure to the teaching of personal, social and health education (PSHE) and the social and emotional aspects of learning. This means that issues related to relationship, differences and bullying are regularly discussed and explored.  ‘Widden Workshops’ enable pupils to work with others from different ages throughout the school. Other extra-curricular opportunities are tailored to meet the needs of particular groups. Pupils take posts of responsibility such as ‘learning buddies’. All of these opportunities contribute to pupils

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Strengths of this aspect of the school’s work

working more effectively together and the development of pupils’ self- esteem and self-worth.  The school is knowledgeable about its local community. It is aware that local tensions can influence behaviour in school. It works with partners to support different groups.  Staff feel they know pupils well. The school explores and tries to understand the reasons behind any bullying behaviour by individuals or why a child may be a victim. It supports these pupils, and where appropriate, their families. It works with a number of other agencies including the Bartongate Children's Centre, Widden Site.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 continuing to ensure that pupils are aware of the new behaviour policy and the particular expectations of Widden Primary School so that they can articulate these clearly  developing the PSHE curriculum further so that it reflects the particular community of Widden Primary School  monitoring pupils’ skills and knowledge more effectively  using available data and evidence systematically to inform targeted school development planning, ensuring that success can be measured in improved outcomes for pupils where appropriate.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that this visit has been useful in the further development of this aspect of the school’s work.

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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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