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 R Woodall Headteacher St Andrew’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Mill Race Stanstead Abbotts Ware SG12 8BZ

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and communication technology (ICT)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 10 November 2011 to look at work in ICT.

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and communication technology (ICT)

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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and communication technology (ICT)

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff, the Chair of Governors and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; a tour of the school with pupils; analysis of pupils’ work; observation of three lessons; and two ‘learning walks’ with yourself and your deputy headteacher.

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and communication technology (ICT)

The overall effectiveness of ICT is good.

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Achievement in ICT

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with ICT skills and capabilities that are broadly in line with national expectations. They make good progress throughout the school and by the end of Year 6 leave with standards that are above national averages, especially in presentation, communication and data handling.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those with limited or no access to new technologies at home, are given good support by teachers and well-informed teaching assistants, and make the same good progress as other groups of pupils.  Pupils enjoy using ICT. This is reflected in their support for each other in lessons and in their good, and often outstanding, behaviour. They are enthusiastic about ICT and display a good awareness of how it supports their learning in a range of subjects.  By Year 2, pupils have a satisfactory understanding of what they need to

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Achievement in ICT

do to keep themselves safe when using new technologies at school and at home. By Year 6, pupils have a good understanding.

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Quality of teaching in ICT

 Teachers and teaching assistants are confident users of ICT because of good training and guidance provided through whole staff training, individual support and local authority training. Subject knowledge is good.  Teachers and teaching assistants support pupils well in lessons. Lessons are put into context, so as to further engage and motivate pupils. For example, Year 5 pupils write scripts on how to use a mobile telephone in case of an emergency, and film these with flipcams.  The objectives for ICT are shared with pupils at the start of each lesson, so that they can evaluate their learning at the end of the lesson against the success criteria, ‘WALT’ (We are learning to) and ‘WILF’ (What I am looking for).  Assessment procedures are used well in lessons to support planning and to monitor those who achieve or exceed the learning objectives of a lesson.  Whole-school assessment procedures have been trialled and introduced so

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Quality of teaching in ICT

as to more accurately monitor the achievement of different groups of pupils over time.

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Quality of the curriculum in ICT

The quality of the curriculum in ICT is good.

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Quality of the curriculum in ICT

 The curriculum is well-planned and meets pupils’ needs and interests. Meaningful links are made between ICT and literacy, numeracy and foundation subjects. For example, Reception class children work together to program a floor robot, disguised as a pirate ship, to follow a route to a hoard of lost treasure. This supports mathematics, speaking and listening skills, and their skills of cooperation and teamwork.  Good use is made of visiting ICT specialists to teach control technology, including robotics.  An audit of pupils’ access to new technologies outside of school has ensured that those with limited or no access are able to catch up with work and/or develop their ICT skills through the ‘E-learning Club’.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in ICT

The effectiveness of leadership and management in ICT is good.  Self-evaluation is accurate. The strengths and areas for development are known and there is a clear vision for the development of ICT shared by staff, parents, governors and pupils.  Regular training for teachers and teaching assistants is effective and supports the good progress of pupils.  The governing body is well-informed and fully supports the development of the subject. Governors and senior leaders recognise that resources, especially in the computer suite/library, need upgrading and that the suite is no longer fit for purpose. Leaders and governors are investigating ways to finance an appropriate upgrade, within increased budgetary constraints. Interactive whiteboards and sound systems have recently been updated in all classrooms.  Technical support is good and ensures that aging hardware and resources are generally well maintained.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 embedding the use of newly introduced assessment and monitoring procedures, to enable accurate monitoring of the attainment and achievement of all groups of pupils over time  ensuring that the space and layout of the suite/library is conducive for learning  ensuring that the rolling programme of updating hardware and software is manageable and given appropriate priority within the school’s budget.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

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