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 D Garrido Headteacher Ash Manor School Manor Road Ash Hampshire GU12 6QH

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business and enterprise

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and students, during my visit on 2 and 3 February 2012 to look at work in economics, business and enterprise.

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business and enterprise

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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business and enterprise

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and students; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of students’ work; and observation of five lessons.

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business and enterprise

The overall effectiveness of economics, business and enterprise is satisfactory.

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Achievement in economics, business and enterprise

Achievement in economics, business and enterprise is satisfactory.

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Achievement in economics, business and enterprise

 Across the school, students develop effective employability skills of teamwork and leadership. They show much enterprise and initiative in taking a leading role in business-related projects, challenges and in charity fundraising. This contributes well to students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They develop a very good understanding of business, enterprise and industrial practices. Students in Year 7, for example, demonstrated excellent creativity in using information and communication technology to develop and present ideas for a new confectionery range. Students have a well-developed understanding of job roles and pathways into careers.  Students have a sound understanding of aspects of personal finance. They have less confidence, however, in discussing wider issues facing the whole economy.  Formally assessed provision for business studies began in 2010, so no final public examination results are available yet. In GCSE business, students’

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Achievement in economics, business and enterprise

results in modules already taken are above average at grades A* to C. The large majority of students have made progress at least in line with expectation although rates of progress vary between classes. Learning and progress have been weak for the small number of students following the vocational BTEC course, although recent interventions have accelerated students’ completion of assignments.

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Quality of teaching in economics, business and enterprise

The quality of teaching in economics, business and enterprise is satisfactory.

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Quality of teaching in economics, business and enterprise

 Aspects of business and enterprise are taught very well in subjects across the curriculum. Excellent examples were seen of teachers setting activities in engaging business contexts to develop students’ subject knowledge and wider skills. Travel and tourism students were successfully taught, using real examples from the travel industry, to tailor holiday packages to meet individual customer needs. In design and technology, teachers in a recent project set up a batch production system to cast and package high-quality school blazer badges, and to enable students to understand industrial processes.  The quality of teaching in the formally assessed business provision varies widely. There are examples of enjoyable, well-structured activities, and some excellent marking and feedback in the GCSE course. Teaching is much less effective on the vocational BTEC course, where expectations for students’ outcomes are too low, assessment has been overgenerous and

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Quality of teaching in economics, business and enterprise

students have not always been given clear guidance about how to improve their work.

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Quality of the curriculum in economics, business and enterprise

The quality of the curriculum in economics, business and enterprise is satisfactory.

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Quality of the curriculum in economics, business and enterprise

 Whole-school provision does much to promote students’ understanding of business, enterprise and the world of work, both through subjects and through extra-curricular clubs and activities. Regular ‘challenge days’ enable students to work on business-related activities, often with representatives from the business world. Many students take the opportunity to attend events or gain work experience in the sectors of industry which interest them. The school is at the forefront of key education-industry initiatives, such as the ‘Honda School of Dreams’, aimed at promoting students’ creativity and thinking skills. In contrast, there are few planned links with businesses to support students’ learning in the formally assessed business courses.  Students’ understanding of how to manage their personal finances and promote their economic well-being is clearly mapped and developed through the school’s social and cultural studies and tutorial programmes.

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and enterprise

The effectiveness of leadership and management in economics, business and enterprise is satisfactory.

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and enterprise

 You have a clear vision for the development of business and enterprise education across the school, and this is widely shared by staff and students. An enterprise culture permeates the work of the school. The school recognises the need for a system to evaluate the success of the many activities offered and to systematically record students’ progress in their economics, business and enterprise capability.  Weaknesses in the leadership and management of formally assessed provision are being addressed by intervention from senior leaders. Students who have underachieved so far have been identified through the school’s clear monitoring systems, and they are receiving additional support and guidance to accelerate their progress. Self-evaluation and development planning of formally assessed provision have been narrowly focused on the immediate aims of raising achievement.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 raising students’ attainment and progress on the vocational BTEC course by ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations for student outcomes and that assessments are rigorously moderated and verified  broadening strategic planning for the development of formally assessed business provision, for example by developing direct links with business to support students’ learning and their vocational experience  across the school, strengthening students’ general economic understanding.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop economics, business and enterprise 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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